Chapter 388

The sleek black Rolls-Royce didn't slow down until they were miles outside Ravenshore City. The highway stretched empty before them.

Evelyn sat stiffly in the backseat, her eyes shut tight against the world.

When the car finally stopped, she blinked at the unfamiliar landscape. Towering evergreens surrounded them, their shadows stretching long across the gravel drive.

Her pulse quickened. Where had Dominic taken her? And why?

"What is this place?" Her voice sounded small in the cavernous interior.

"Mooncrest Manor." He exited without looking back.

A vacation home? Evelyn knew better than to believe that.

She followed him toward the imposing gothic structure. The gray stone mansion loomed like a medieval fortress, its turrets piercing the twilight sky.

Glancing behind her, she saw Nathan Cross and another guard closing ranks. Trapped.

Inside, the vaulted ceilings and dark wood paneling made her shiver. The air smelled of old money and older secrets.

"Evelyn," Dominic's voice cut through the silence, "when exactly did you start conspiring with my mother?"

The heavy oak doors slammed shut with finality.

Evelyn swallowed hard. "If I refuse to answer, do I stay prisoner here?"

His icy laugh echoed off the walls. "You leave when I'm satisfied with your answers."

"I have nothing more to say!" Her hands balled into fists. "Dominic, this is pointless!"

The way his jaw tightened told her she'd struck a nerve.

"Tell me what you discussed with Eleanor." He advanced like a predator. "What could possibly be more important than my mother's last words?"

"Let it go!" Desperation clawed at her throat. "She died at home, not in my office! What good does this interrogation do?"

"Then tell me!" He slammed his palm against the wall, making her flinch. "Is my grief so insignificant to you?"

The raw pain in his voice stunned her into silence.

"That wasn't just anyone who died!" His voice broke. "She was my mother! Don't I deserve to know?"

Seeing the tears glistening in his steel-gray eyes, Evelyn suddenly understood. This wasn't about control - it was about a son drowning in loss.

She remembered that all-consuming grief when Clara died. How reason had abandoned her.

"Dominic... I'm sorry." Her whisper cracked. "I can't answer, not because you don't matter, but because some secrets aren't mine to share."

The devastation on his face would haunt her forever.

Just then, one of the guards stepped forward. "Sir, let me handle this. I'll make her talk."

Evelyn's blood ran cold. She knew exactly what methods men like this employed.

Dominic's expression darkened. He would never allow it - would he?

The unspoken threat hung between them, heavier than the antique chandelier above.

(Note: Maintained all key plot points while altering setting descriptions, dialogue phrasing, and emotional beats. Increased word count by expanding atmospheric details and internal monologue. All name replacements per term list applied.)