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The Warning in Gold
The Warning in Gold
Author: Goodtale

Chapter 1

Author: Goodtale
How could that happen?

I turned sharply toward the woman beside me.

Delia still had her arm linked through mine.

She wore a pale yellow dress that made her complexion look luminous and her expression gentle.

But at that moment, her eyes were fixed on Adrian Prescott.

My heartbeat stumbled.

"Delia."

My voice sounded tighter than I intended. "What are you staring at so intently?"

She startled, and color climbed her throat.

She lowered her lashes. "Nothing. I was only thinking that Major Prescott looks impressive in his dress uniform."

Before I could question her further, a shadow fell across the table.

"Evelyn."

Adrian had approached without my noticing.

He still wore the formal uniform from the homecoming ceremony, and it held him at the same disciplined bearing he'd carried onto the parade ground that morning.

But concern pressed between his brows.

"Why are you so pale? Are you feeling sick?"

I managed a smile.

"I'm fine. The fireplaces are too warm, and the room feels stuffy."

He touched my forehead. His palm was warm and dry. "You're covered in sweat."

I reassured him quietly.

"I'm truly fine. Tonight is about you, and everyone is watching. Don't spend the whole gala hovering over me."

Adrian still wanted to argue, but one of the officers beside him approached with a glass and laughed.

"Prescott, you're not even married yet, and you're already clinging to her in front of the entire regiment?"

Several officers nearby joined the teasing.

Adrian turned and glared at them, helpless, though the back of his neck had gone red.

He lowered his voice. "Sit for a while. If you feel worse, call me immediately."

I nodded and watched him return to the head table.

As he turned away, I caught Delia's gaze following his back until he sat down, and only then did she withdraw her eyes.

Too quickly. I was seated beside her and had seen everything.

It was admiration, and longing, and the private hunger I'd once caught on my own face in the mirror.

A chill crawled up my back.

After Adrian left, I took several slow breaths and spoke as casually as I could.

"Delia, you said you hoped to meet someone tonight. There are plenty of eligible men here. Has anyone caught your attention? I can introduce you."

She set down her glass and refused to look at me.

"Evelyn, don't tease me. I can't choose someone that casually..."

"Then who interests you?"

I kept my tone affectionate. "There's Congressman Hale's son, Senator Whitcomb's nephew, and..."

"Evelyn."

Delia caught my sleeve and shook it lightly.

"Please stop asking. I know my own heart. If there is someone suitable, I'll tell you."

She lowered her head and twisted her napkin, her voice barely audible.

"It just isn't time yet."

Something twisted low in my chest and refused to let go.

She admitted that she wanted someone but refused to name him.

She said the time hadn't come.

Yet the way she looked at Adrian was unmistakably the way a woman looked at the man she loved.

I lifted my wine and took one cold sip, but it didn't touch the nausea rising in me.

The golden warning was real.

Which meant her attempt to trap Adrian was real too.

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  • The Warning in Gold   Chapter 9

    Six months later, the criminal cases and civil trust proceedings were resolved.Gavin pleaded guilty to conspiracy, assault, unlawful restraint, evidence fabrication, and attempted trust fraud. He received a lengthy prison sentence and was permanently removed from every Prescott family trust and management position.Delia pleaded guilty to conspiracy, filing a false accusation, evidence fabrication, and her role in Tessa's assault. She received a multiyear prison sentence followed by supervised release.The scandal ended my father's political career. He wasn't reappointed to the Northfall Commerce Commission and accepted a minor administrative post in the remote county of Greyhaven.Vivian received a formal eviction notice from the Langford residence and left Ravenmere. She knelt outside my home for an entire day before departing, but I refused to see her.I later heard that she returned to the small town where she grew up. After that, no one mentioned her again.Gavin's crimes l

  • The Warning in Gold   Chapter 8

    The sentence struck the room like a boulder breaking through ice.No one moved.Every gaze dropped to Delia's abdomen.She covered it instinctively, her face white, standing as though she had been stripped in public.Her lips trembled as she tried to retreat, but the couch blocked her.My father's face had turned gray.He opened his mouth and made a rough sound, yet no words came.Vivian remained collapsed on the floor. Her crying had stopped, and tears ran silently down her face.I turned toward my father.He stood at the front of the crowd, and every trace of his authority had shattered.I met his eyes and spoke clearly."Dad, you heard him. Delia is pregnant with Gavin Prescott's child. She was already involved with him and came here tonight to accuse Adrian. A moment ago, you said it made no difference which sister married into the Prescott family. Does it still make no difference?"My father tried to answer.His shoulders collapsed, his back bent, and the polished dig

  • The Warning in Gold   Chapter 7

    The guest suite fell silent.Delia's crying stopped abruptly.Gavin also stopped struggling.Both turned toward me and stared as though I had become a stranger.Delia recovered first.She scrambled up and stumbled toward me.She seized my wrist hard enough for her nails to bite into my skin."Evelyn, you can't call the sheriff. The scandal will destroy the Prescott name. You're supposed to marry into this family. Don't you care how humiliating this will be?"I tore my arm from her grasp."When you accused my fiancé of assault, did you care about my dignity?"When you undressed and staged this scene beside him, did you care about the Prescott family?"Delia stumbled backward and struck the low couch. Her lips trembled, but she had no answer.Gavin straightened nearby and forced a laugh."Evelyn, you're exaggerating. I lost that medallion several days ago. Anyone could have dropped it beneath the window. It proves nothing.""Mr. Finch, you heard Gavin claim he lost the meda

  • The Warning in Gold   Chapter 6

    Someone in the suite drew a sharp breath."It really is his.""Why was Gavin Prescott's medallion outside the guest-suite window?""Did he climb into the room from the garden?""This scandal keeps getting worse."Fine sweat appeared across Gavin's forehead. He pointed at Adrian and shouted."Adrian did it. He stole my medallion and planted it.""Enough. Owen and Marcus remained with me from the moment Evelyn spoke to me. They can account for every hallway I used and every person I met. But you..."Adrian's eyes cut toward Gavin."This was my homecoming gala, yet you were missing from the ballroom for most of the evening. Where were you?"Gavin opened his mouth, but no answer came. His face went blotchy, then bloodless.Before he could invent another excuse, I nodded toward Alvarez."Detain Gavin's personal aide."Two guards moved immediately and pulled a young man from the edge of the crowd.It was Kyle Finch, Gavin's longtime aide. He had been hiding near the rear exit a

  • The Warning in Gold   Chapter 5

    I bent and helped Tessa rise."Don't rush. Tell us everything clearly."She took several breaths, her voice hoarse with fury."I brought Delia here to change. She asked for tea, and I turned toward the service counter."Someone struck the back of my head. Everything went black."When I woke, I was locked inside the rear storage building, gagged and bound. The men Ms. Langford sent came over the back wall and found me."Tessa turned and faced the room."I've worked for Ms. Langford for six years and I've never once lied for her. If a single word of this is false, I'll swear to it in front of a judge and take whatever comes."The suite filled with shocked voices.I turned toward Delia, my tone quiet and cold."Tessa was removed before anything happened. You say Adrian invited you here. Who saw him invite you? Who can confirm it?"Delia's face lost color.But she bit her lower lip, and tears began falling again."One of his officers delivered the message. I don't know his nam

  • The Warning in Gold   Chapter 4

    Delia hesitated for a fraction of a second, then looked at me blankly."Evelyn... I haven't seen Tessa."She lowered her head and wiped her tears, her voice barely louder than a whisper."The moment I entered, he... he attacked me. I wasn't thinking about an assistant."She sounded injured and innocent, but the guests were not fools. Someone immediately spoke."That's right. Ms. Wynn clearly escorted Delia here to change. Where is she?"I clenched my hands and searched every corner of the suite.Tessa was gone.So was Paige.Even if Paige had failed to stop the scheme, she would never disappear without warning.I drew a breath and turned to Dean Alvarez, who ran security for the Prescott estate and was standing near the door."Search the entire guest wing and the grounds behind it. Find both women immediately."Alvarez hurried away.Whispers rose again throughout the suite.Delia's crying gradually softened.She lifted her face, looked timidly at me, then at Adrian."Ev

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