CHAPTER 81: GABRIELLE'S GAME FAILS
The photo on Jeremy's tablet burned into my brain. That face, those cold calculating eyes staring directly at the security camera like they knew we'd find this eventually.
"No." The word came out strangled. "That's not possible."
"Kate—" William started but I cut him off.
"Call Mr Howard. Now." My hands wouldn't stop shaking. "Send him this photo, ask if he recognizes them."
Liam already had his phone out. "On it."
I couldn't look away from the screen. Couldn't process what I was seeing.
"How long have they been working with the SE?" William's voice was ice.
"Based on these files?" Emma scrolled through documents. "At least five years. Maybe longer."
"Five years." I laughed but it came out broken. "We trusted them. I trusted them."
My phone rang. Mr Howard, calling back faster than expected.
"Kate, where did you get that photo?" His voice shook.
"Donovan's encrypted files. You know who this is?"
"I do." He exhaled shakily. "And if they're part of the SE then you're all in immediate danger. Listen to me carefully. Don't confront them, don't let them know you've discovered their identity. Just get out of that house."
"Mr Howard—"
"I'm serious Kate. The SE killed my family when they thought I knew too much. They'll do worse to you." Papers rustled. "I'm at my countryside property, the address I'll text you. Come here tonight, bring everyone you trust. We'll figure out how to stop them but you need to disappear first."
The call ended. A text came through seconds later with coordinates an hour outside the city.
"We should go." Tina appeared beside me. "If Mr Howard says run, we run."
"No." William set his jaw. "I'm done running. If this person wants a war they'll get one."
"William, be reasonable—"
"I am being reasonable Tina." He turned to Jeremy. "Can you trace their movements over the last six months? Figure out when they were here, who they met with?"
"Already on it." Jeremy's fingers flew across his keyboard. "Give me ten minutes."
Those ten minutes felt like hours. I paced the study while William made calls, pulling in security, lawyers, people he trusted. Emma worked beside Jeremy, both of them muttering about encryption and digital footprints.
Liam stood guard at the door, his hand resting on something in his jacket that looked suspiciously like a weapon.
"Got it." Jeremy spun his laptop around. "They were here seven times in the last six months. Every visit coincided with major developments in your investigation against Carlos."
"They were feeding him information." The pieces clicked together in my head. "Every move we made, every plan we discussed, they reported back."
"Which means they know we're onto them now." William checked his watch. "We have maybe an hour before they realize we found these files."
"Then we use it." I grabbed my jacket. "We go to Mr Howard's like he suggested but we don't hide. We set a trap."
"Kate that's insane." Tina blocked my path. "You're pregnant, you just buried your uncle, you can't—"
"I can and I will." I met her eyes. "This ends tonight."
A knock at the study door made everyone freeze. One of the housekeepers poked her head in, looking nervous.
"Mrs Dray? A parcel just arrived for you. The courier said it was urgent."
My stomach dropped. "From who?"
"A Miss Gabrielle. She said you'd know her."
William's face went dark. "Gabrielle? My ex?"
"The same one who's been showing up uninvited for months?" I took the box from the housekeeper. "Yeah, that Gabrielle."
It was wrapped in expensive paper, tied with a silk ribbon. My name written in elegant script across the top.
"Don't open it." William reached for the box but I'd already started pulling the ribbon loose.
"She hates me William. Why would she send a gift?"
"Exactly why you shouldn't—"
The lid came off.
Everything happened so fast.
A flash of movement inside the box. Something large and dark uncoiling with a hiss that froze my blood.
The cobra struck.
William shoved me backward, his body between me and the snake. The cobra's fangs caught his forearm instead of my throat.
"William!" I screamed.
He grabbed the snake behind its head with his other hand, wrestling it away from me. Liam was there in seconds with a letter opener, pinning the cobra to the floor.
"Get Kate out of here!" William's voice came through gritted teeth.
Jeremy had his phone out calling for an ambulance. Emma grabbed a belt, already moving to tourniquet William's arm.
I couldn't move. Couldn't breathe. Just stared at the bite marks oozing blood.
"Kate." Tina shook me. "Kate, you need to let them work."
"He saved me." My voice sounded far away. "It was meant for me."
"Which is why he needs medical attention now." She pulled me toward the door. "Come on."
"No, I'm not leaving him."
"You're in the way." Emma's voice cut sharp. "Either help or get out."
I helped. Grabbed towels from the bathroom, held pressure on the wound while Emma kept the tourniquet tight. William's skin had gone pale and clammy.
"Stay with me." I grabbed his face with my free hand. "William, look at me. Stay awake."
"Always so bossy." He tried to smile but it came out wrong. "I'm fine Kate."
"You're not fine, you're dying."
"Not dying. Just mildly poisoned." His words started slurring. "Worth it though. Couldn't let it hurt you."
Sirens wailed in the distance. The longest five minutes of my life passed before paramedics rushed in.
They loaded William onto a stretcher, started an IV, asked questions I barely heard. I climbed into the ambulance without asking permission.
"Ma'am you can't—" the paramedic started.
"Try to stop me."
He didn't.
The hospital was chaos. Doctors, nurses, antivenom, tests. They wouldn't let me in the room while they worked so I stood outside the door watching through the window.
Tina appeared beside me with coffee I didn't drink. Liam paced the hallway making calls. Jeremy and Emma showed up twenty minutes later with news I wasn't sure I wanted to hear.
"We tracked the parcel." Jeremy looked exhausted. "It came from Gabrielle's penthouse downtown. Building security has her on camera packing it herself."
"She tried to kill me." The words felt unreal. "She sent a cobra to kill me and my baby."
"She's in custody." Liam held up his phone. "Police picked her up ten minutes ago. She's denying everything but the evidence is pretty clear."
"Is she part of the SE?" I couldn't stop looking at William through that window. "Is this connected?"
"We don't know yet." Emma pulled up files on her tablet. "But the timing is suspicious. We discover someone close to you is working with the SE, and hours later Gabrielle tries to kill you? That's not coincidence."
The doctor emerged from William's room. My heart stopped.
"He's stable." She pulled off her gloves. "The antivenom is working and we got to him fast enough. He'll need to stay overnight for observation but he should make a full recovery."
I sagged against the wall. "Can I see him?"
"Five minutes. He needs rest."
William looked small in that hospital bed, IV lines running from both arms. His eyes opened when I walked in.
"Hey." His voice came out rough.
"Hey yourself." I took his good hand, the one without the snake bite. "You're an idiot."
"Been called worse."
"You could have died."
"But I didn't." He squeezed my fingers. "And neither did you. I'd say that's a win."
"This isn't funny William."
"I know." His expression sobered. "But Kate, when I saw that snake coming for you, I didn't think. Just moved. Because losing you isn't an option."
Tears spilled down my cheeks. "You can't keep throwing yourself in front of danger for me."
"Watch me."
"I'm serious. Our baby needs a father."
"Then I'll make sure I'm around to be one." He pulled me closer. "But I won't apologize for protecting you. That's not going to change."
I kissed him, gentle because he was hurt and I was terrified and everything felt too fragile.
"I love you." The words came easier this time. "Even when you're being an idiot."
"Love you too." He smiled against my lips. "Even when you're opening mysterious packages."
The door opened. A police detective I didn't recognize stepped in with Liam behind him.
"Mrs Dray, I'm Detective Morrison. I need to ask you some questions about Gabrielle Chen."
"She tried to murder my wife." William's voice hardened despite his condition. "What more do you need to know?"
"We need to establish motive." Morrison pulled out a notepad. "Miss Chen claims this was meant as a prank gone wrong, that she didn't realize the snake was venomous."
"That's bull." I stood up. "Cobras don't just show up in gift boxes by accident."
"Which is why we're charging her with attempted murder." Morrison looked between us. "But there's something else. In her apartment we found documents, files about your family Kate. About your parents' company, about the plane crash. She's been investigating you for years."
My blood ran cold. "Why?"
"That's what we're trying to figure out." Morrison closed his notepad. "But I thought you should know. This wasn't just jealousy or revenge. Gabrielle had a bigger agenda."
He left and I turned to Liam. "Is she part of the SE?"
"We're looking into it." He glanced at William. "But boss, even if she's not, someone put her up to this. Someone who knew that package would get past your security, who knew Kate would open it."
"The mole." William tried to sit up but winced. "They're setting up their endgame."
My phone buzzed. Unknown number. Against my better judgment I answered.
"Hello Kate." That voice from the recording, the one I almost recognized. "Did you enjoy your gift? Consider it a warning. Stop digging or next time I'll make sure William isn't fast enough to save you."
The line went dead.
I looked at the phone, then at William pale in his hospital bed, then at Liam waiting for orders.
"Get everyone to Mr Howard's countryside property." My voice came out steady and cold. "Tonight. We're ending this."