The Mute Bride Is The Secret Mastermind

The whiskey in the crystal tumbler looked like liquid amber, harmless and expensive. Barron Drake swirled it, watching the light catch the edges, his jaw set tight. He hated these people. He hated the way they smiled with their teeth but not their eyes, the way they shook his hand while calculating how much his upcoming indictment would cost them.

He took a sip.

It hit him before the liquor even reached his stomach. A numbness started in his fingertips, a distinct, prickly static that shouldn't be there. His pupils contracted, the room suddenly too bright, the chatter too loud.

Barron tried to set the glass down on the marble high-top table. His wrist refused to cooperate. The glass slipped, hitting the stone with a sharp clack that sounded like a gunshot in his heightened state.

Across the room, Clotilde Schmidt was clinking glasses with Preston Hayes. She wasn't looking at Preston. Her gaze was locked on Barron, and the corner of her mouth lifted in a smile that didn't reach her eyes.

He knew then. He had been dosed.

The faces around him began to warp, stretching into grotesque masks. Panic, cold and sharp, spiked in his chest. He had to move. He pushed off the table, his legs feeling like they were stuffed with wet cotton. Sweat broke out instantly, soaking his dress shirt under the tuxedo jacket.

He aimed for the side exit. Every step was a manual calculation. Left foot. Right foot. Don't fall.

He was going to crash into the champagne tower. He could see it coming, the inevitable disaster, but his brakes were cut.

A shadow detached itself from the periphery.

Someone in a service uniform that was two sizes too big slid into his path. They wore a low-brimmed cap and a plain black service mask that obscured their entire lower face. A tray was held steady in one hand, while a shoulder, surprisingly bony and hard, jammed into his chest, arresting his fall.

Barron slumped against the figure. He smelled cedar. Not the cloying floral scents of the debutantes, but something sharp, clean, and cold.

A gloved hand tapped twice, sharply, on his shoulder. A clear, urgent command without words. Then a voice whispered, low and distorted, almost mechanical, as if through a small device. "Left. Blind spot."

Barron tried to shove the person away. Get off me. But his arms hung like lead weights. He was dead weight, yet this small server was moving him with terrifying efficiency.

Clotilde's security detail was scanning the room. Their heads turned in unison, sharks smelling blood.

The server shoved Barron through a heavy service door. The noise of the gala cut off instantly, replaced by the hum of industrial refrigerators. The server locked the door.

Barron slid down the wall, his breath coming in ragged gasps. He reached out, his hand shaking violently, and grabbed the server's wrist.

"Who sent you?" he rasped.

The server didn't answer. She looked at his hand on her wrist like it was a piece of interesting trash. With a precise, clinical movement, she pressed her thumb into a nerve cluster on his forearm. His grip went slack instantly.

She hauled him up. She wasn't using strength; she was using leverage, shifting her center of gravity to support his bulk. They moved toward the freight elevator. She punched in a code-a long, complex string of numbers-without hesitating.

The elevator surged upward. Barron's head lolled back. His vision was a kaleidoscope of gray fabric and blurred lights. The only thing he could focus on was the server's ill-fitting sleeve riding up slightly, exposing the pale skin of her inner wrist and a small, red mole sitting starkly against it.

The doors opened to the penthouse. His penthouse. How did she have access?

She dragged him to the bathroom. The sound of running water filled his ears. Then, the shock.

Ice water.

She dumped him into the tub. The cold was a physical blow, a thousand needles piercing his skin. Barron roared, the sound tearing at his throat. He thrashed, water sloshing over the marble floor.

He reached out blindly, grabbing her collar. He yanked.

She fell forward, half her body splashing into the freezing water. She was close now. Inches away. Barron could feel her breath on his face. He fought to focus his eyes, desperate to see the face under the low-brimmed cap and behind the mask.

"Look at me," he growled, the drug making his voice thick.

She didn't blink. Her eyes were dark, devoid of fear. She raised a hand and pressed two fingers against the pulse point on his neck, checking his heart rate.

The cold was working. The hallucinations were receding, leaving behind a throbbing headache. He stared at her, trying to memorize the shape of her jaw, the curve of her lip, but the mask and shadows made it impossible.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

"Mr. Drake? Barron? We have the perimeter secured!" Arthur's voice boomed from the hallway.

The server moved. She shoved Barron back against the porcelain, hard. Her uniform was soaked, clinging to her frame. She scrambled backward, water dripping from the brim of her cap.

Barron lunged. His fingers brushed her sleeve. He caught something-metal, small-and pulled.

There was a snap of thread.

She was gone. She didn't run; she vanished, slipping out the balcony door and over the railing to the fire escape with the agility of a stray cat.

Barron sat in the freezing water, shivering violently. He opened his hand.

In his palm lay a silver cufflink. Unique. Hand-forged.

He closed his fist around it, the metal biting into his skin. He didn't know who she was, but he was going to find her.