Chapter 6 - The Uninvited Guest
Two weeks passed peacefully at the Oak Brook estate.
Chloe adapted quickly to her new life. While she missed the hustle and bustle of running Henderson’s Diner, Arthur had arranged for her head chef and long-time staff to take over daily operations with full salary raises, ensuring her family’s business remained prosperous while she took maternity leave.
Her days were spent setting up the nursery—painting the walls a soft seafoam green, assembling mahogany cribs, and washing tiny baby clothes. Arthur spent every evening at home, leaving his captains to handle daily logistics while he cooked dinner for Chloe, sat with her by the fireplace, and read books aloud to her expanding stomach.
However, peace in the criminal underworld is rarely permanent.
On a rainy Tuesday morning, while Arthur was in downtown Chicago meeting with his senior lieutenants to finalize the absorption of the Croft shipping docks, a silver sedan pulled up to the outer security gates of the Oak Brook estate.
In the master bedroom, Chloe was arranging stuffed animals in the nursery when the house inter-com chimed.
Leo Barnes’s voice came through the speaker, sounding unusually tense. "Chloe? We have a situation at the main gate. Someone is here asking to see you."
Chloe walked to the window, pulling back the heavy curtain to look down at the long driveway. "Who is it, Leo? Is it Arthur?"
"No," Leo replied grimly. "It’s Vivien Croft."
Chloe’s heart skipped a beat. She gripped the windowsill tightly. "Vivien? What does she want?"
"She’s alone," Leo reported. "Our security team swept her car. No weapons, no guards, no wires. She claims she wants to speak to you woman-to-woman before she leaves the state forever. I can turn her away right now if you want."
Chloe looked down at her heavy belly, then out at the grey rain. Vivien Croft had lost her father, her family’s legacy, and her social standing in a single afternoon. While Malcolm Croft was currently locked away in a high-security holding cell awaiting trial, Vivien was an exile, stripped of everything she had ever known.
"Let her in, Leo," Chloe said quietly.
"Chloe, Arthur will lose his mind if he finds out—"
"Bring her up to the small tea parlor on the ground floor," Chloe insisted firmly. "Station two guards outside the door. She’s not armed, Leo. I want to hear what she has to say."
Ten minutes later, Chloe walked down the grand marble staircase, wearing a comfortable cream-colored maternity sweater and leggings, her hand resting over her bump. She entered the cozy, sunlit parlor overlooking the rear gardens.
Vivien Croft was sitting on a plush armchair, wearing a dark trench coat, holding a cup of hot tea with shaking hands. Without her elaborate makeup, designer wedding dress, and entourage, she looked remarkably small, tired, and defeated.
When Chloe entered, Vivien stood up quickly, her eyes dropping immediately to Chloe’s prominent stomach.
"You look... healthy," Vivien said, her voice raspy and devoid of its former high-society arrogance.
"Sit down, Vivien," Chloe said calmly, taking a seat across from her. "Why are you here? If Arthur finds out you came to this house, he won't be as gentle as I am."
Vivien let out a bitter, joyless laugh, sinking back into her chair. "I know. Arthur Romano is a devil when he’s angry. I learned that the hard way."
She set her teacup down on the saucer, her fingers trembling.
"I didn't come here to threaten you, Chloe," Vivien said quietly, looking down at her polished nails. "I came because... because I needed to see the woman Arthur destroyed my world for. I wanted to hate you. I wanted to see some gold-digging tramp who trapped a powerful Don with a baby."
Vivien raised her eyes, looking directly into Chloe’s calm, hazel gaze.
"But standing in that cathedral... watching Arthur run past me as if I were invisible... watching him drop to his knees in his ruined suit to catch you..." Vivien swallowed hard, tears welling in her eyes. "He never looked at me like that. Not once in the six months we were arranged to be married. He looked at me like a business contract. But he looked at you like you were his entire soul."
Chloe softened slightly, recognizing the deep, agonizing heartbreak in the other woman’s voice. "Vivien... I didn't plan any of this. I didn't know who Arthur was when I met him. He was just a wounded man in my kitchen."
"I know," Vivien whispered, wiping a tear from her cheek. "That’s why he loves you. You didn't want his money or his territory. You just wanted him."
Vivien reached into her handbag, pulling out a small, sealed manila envelope, and set it on the tea table between them.
"What is that?" Chloe asked guardedly.
"My father’s private ledger," Vivien explained. "Before Leo’s men raided our townhouse, I hid it in my coat. It contains the names of four corrupted city officials and two Romano captains who were taking bribes from my father to help sabotage Arthur’s shipping lines."
Chloe looked at the envelope in surprise. "Why are you giving this to me?"
"Because my father is going to spend the rest of his life in prison, and I am moving to Europe under an assumed name tomorrow morning," Vivien said, standing up and pulling her coat tight around her frame. "I don't want any more blood on my family’s name. Give it to Arthur. Let him clean out his own house so your baby can grow up without traitors hiding in the shadows."
Vivien turned and walked toward the parlor door, pausing at the frame without turning around.
May you like
"You won, Chloe," Vivien said softly. "Take care of him. He really does love you."
As Vivien walked out into the rain, Chloe picked up the heavy envelope, holding it tight against her chest, realizing that the final threat to her family’s safety had just been handed to her on a silver platter.
