Then Jinx started laughing.
It was not a normal laugh. It was loud, wild, and broke through the frozen air like shattering glass. Her head tilted back, her shoulders shook, and the sound echoed off the walls of the mansion. She sounded like a woman who had lost her mind.
Silvia was still holding her cheek when Jinx lunged forward and grabbed a fistful of her hair. Silvia screamed—a high, piercing shriek that finally broke the servants from their trance.
"Help! Someone help!" Silvia cried, trying to pull away, but Jinx's grip was strong, her laughter never stopping.
Two servants rushed forward but hesitated, unsure of how to handle the madwoman attacking their master's pregnant mistress.
"What is going on here?"
Fenris's voice cut through the chaos like a blade. He stood at the top of the steps, his eyes wide with disbelief. The servants finally moved, pulling Jinx away from Silvia. Jinx let go easily, still laughing, her head lolling as if she had no control over her own body.
Silvia collapsed against a servant, sobbing, her hand pressed to her stomach. "She tried to hurt the baby! She's insane! She's finally gone insane!"
Fenris walked down the steps slowly, his eyes fixed on Jinx. His face was pale. He had been told the accident was a success. He had been preparing to contact her family, to arrange the funeral, to finally claim the rest of her inheritance. And now here she stood, ragged and wild, very much alive.
"How are you here?" he demanded, his voice low and dangerous. "How are you still alive?"
Jinx stopped laughing. Her face crumpled. Tears spilled down her cheeks, and she wrapped her arms around herself, trembling.
"I had a bad dream," she whimpered, her voice small and broken. "A terrible dream. That i left my husband. " She looked around, her eyes darting wildly across the courtyard, the servants, the mansion. "Where am I? How did I get here? What happened to me?"
She looked down at her hands, then at her clothes, then back at Fenris. Her face was the picture of confusion and terror.
The servants exchanged glances. Some shook their heads. Others whispered behind their hands. They all thought the same thing: The poor woman had finally snapped. All the abuse, the whipping, the betrayal—it had broken her mind.
Fenris stood frozen, his hand still raised halfway, ready to strike her. But he lowered it slowly. He could not hit a woman who was clearly out of her senses. Not in front of the servants. Not when word would spread.
"Take her to her room," he ordered, his voice tight with restrained fury. "And keep her there."
Two servants stepped forward and gently guided Jinx toward the house.
Jinx refused to move. "No! Where is my husband? I want to see my husband!"
Her voice rose into a shriek, and she pulled against the servants' grips. Two more rushed over to help, but Jinx was strong in her frenzy. She laughed hysterically for a moment, then her face crumpled into confusion again.
"Where am I? Who are all of you? I want Fenris! Please, someone take me to my husband!"
It took five servants in total to drag her through the doors and down the hallway. Her voice echoed off the walls, switching between wild laughter and desperate sobs. Heads peeked out from doorways as she passed. The household was watching. They were all watching.
Fenris took Silvia's arm and guided her back to his room. She was shaking, her hand still pressed to her reddened cheek.
"How did this happen?" Silvia demanded, her voice trembling with fury and disbelief. "You told me she was dead! You said you had proof!"
"I did," Fenris said, pacing the room. His jaw was tight, his hands clenched into fists. "I was sent a video. She was in the car. The avalanche hit. It was a sealed tomb."
He stopped pacing and ran a hand through his hair. "But here she is. Alive and Unharmed. It makes no sense."
Silvia's eyes narrowed. "What happens now? We lose the inheritance? After everything we did?"
"We don't lose anything," Fenris said, his voice dropping low. He crossed to her and took her hands. "The plan has not changed. I will still declare her dead."
He glanced toward the door, then back at Silvia. "Tonight. We will plan her death for tonight."
Silvia looked up at him, confused. "Tonight? At the party?"
"Yes" Fenris said, a slow smile spreading across his face. "Important guests. Media. Everyone who matters will be here. And they will all witness Jinx die right in front of them."
He cupped Silvia's cheek, his thumb gently massaging the red mark left by Jinx's slap. "
Silvia's eyes widened, then softened. "And everything becomes ours."
"Everything," Fenris confirmed. He kissed her forehead again. "Now rest, my love. Tonight, we celebrate our future."
****
The night came quickly.
Lanterns hung from every archway, casting warm golden light over the snow-covered grounds. The mansion's grand hall was filled with the elite of the sector—wealthy merchants, clan representatives, even a few minor nobles. Music played softly from a string ensemble in the corner. Servants moved through the crowd with trays of sparkling drinks and appetizers.
This was the night Fenris had planned to announce Jinx's death. He had prepared a tearful speech, had already drafted the sympathy headlines. Her tragic accident would have made him a widower to be pitied, a man whose wealth had doubled overnight through grief. It would have opened doors to higher circles, greater power.
But Jinx was not dead. Not yet.
Still, Fenris was not worried. His new plan was better. More dramatic. More final.
He stood beside Jinx at the center of the hall, his hand resting possessively on her lower back. To anyone watching from outside, they looked like the perfect couple. She wore a beautiful gown—one of Silvia's castoffs, but elegant enough. Her hair was brushed and styled. Her face was clean, though her eyes held a strange emptiness.
She obeyed him like a puppet. When he squeezed her back, she smiled. When he leaned close, she tilted her head as if listening to sweet words. No one could see the invisible leash he held. It took a while for him to reach in for her sanity before the party started.
The party reached its peak. Glasses clinked. Laughter filled the air.
Fenris raised his glass, tapping it with a fork until the room quieted. "Honored guests," he began, his voice warm and sincere. "Tonight, we celebrate not just another year of prosperity, but the strength of family. The bonds that hold us together, even in the darkest times."
He looked at Jinx with false tenderness. "My wife and I have faced challenges. But we stand here, together, stronger than ever. To love. To loyalty. To the future."
"To the future!" the crowd echoed.
Everyone drank. The wine was sweet, expensive, imported from the southern continents.
Jinx drank too.
For a moment, nothing happened. The music resumed. Conversations started again.
Then Jinx's hand flew to her throat.
She coughed—once, twice. A wet, choking sound. Fenris stepped back, his expression shifting to alarm.
"Jinx? What is it?" he asked, loud enough for those nearby to hear.
She opened her mouth to answer, but instead of words, black blood spilled from her lips. It splattered onto the marble floor, thick and dark.