Chapter 103: The Brutal Dinner
The car rolled through the iron gates of the Kingsley estate, winding past sculpted hedges and a fountain that practically screamed rich money. As twilight settled over the horizon, the mansion stood like a quiet monarch, its glowing windows casting golden halos across the stone driveway.
Jean kept her posture perfect, hands folded neatly in her lap. Beside her, Logan sat still... stone faced and unreadable. The silence between them wasn’t awkward. It was electric. Heavy with everything they weren’t saying.
When the car stopped, the driver stepped out and opened Logan’s door. He emerged first, offering his hand toward her. Jean hesitated for a breath, then placed her hand in his... not out of affection, but because someone might be watching.
As they entered the hallway, the scent of lilies blended with aged mahogany and subtle notes of candle wax. A butler greeted them with a stiff nod. "Mr. Kingsley. Mrs. Kingsley. The family is in the living room."
Mrs. Kingsley.
Jean swallowed the unfamiliar weight of the name and followed Logan deeper into the house.
They passed beneath towering archways and down a corridor bathed in warm light until they reached the living area... elegant, timeless, and too pristine to feel lived in.
Inside, the Kingsleys were exactly as Logan had described them, and yet nothing like she’d imagined.
Martha Kingsley, poised and graceful even in conversation, leaned toward her husband with a delicate glass of wine in her hand. Jared Kingsley, sharp eyed and dressed like a man who ran business before breakfast, nodded as he spoke... but the second Jean and Logan entered, his attention shifted.
And then there was Hannah... lounging on a velvet couch, scrolling mindlessly through her phone, legs tucked under her like the world could wait its turn.
At the sight of them, all three Kingsleys rose.