CHAPTER 76: A VERY DANGEROUS PUZZLE

[Reid Mansion—Benjamin’s study]

The grandfather clock ticked steadily in the corner of the dimly lit study, a rhythmic reminder of the late hour.

Benjamin sat behind his mahogany desk, glasses perched low on his nose as he reviewed a stack of agreements. The lamp cast a warm glow across the polished wood but the air in the room was heavy and tense.

Just then, a sudden knock broke the stillness.

Benjamin’s eyes narrowed. "Come in."

The door swung open and Olivia rushed in, breathless and wide-eyed with her phone clutched in her manicured hand.

"Benjamin—" she gasped, closing the door behind her. "Something has happened."

He didn’t even look up. "You barged in at nearly ten at night. It better be important."

"It is," she insisted, walking closer with her heels clicking sharply against the marble. "Everyone is talking about it."

Curiously, he looked up and raised his brows.

"What is this?" he asked, adjusting his glasses.

Olivia thrust her phone toward him with trembling fingers.

"It’s the Women’s association whatsapp group," she said. "They are congratulating Alexander and us."

"Congratulations for what?" he asked, taking the phone in his hand.

Olivia swallowed. "For his wedding."

His pupils contracted.

She then continued in a rush, "Everyone is saying Alexander and Evelyn Carter’s marriage has been fixed. Gregory Carter confirmed it and even mother—" Olivia exhaled shakily. "Even she reacted to one of the messages with a heart."

She then frowned, "Which was weird because she never does that."

A dangerous silence wrapped around the room.

Benjamin leaned back with his fingertips pressed together and eyes locked on his wife.

"And who told you this?" he asked softly.

"Didn’t you hear me say that everyone is talking," Olivia frowned. "Pauline’s cousins and some of the women from the charity circle, it’s everywhere."

Benjamin went still, completely still.

His hands, which had been braced on the desk, relaxed slowly, his shoulders dropped and then a laugh escaped him.

It wasn’t loud or joyful, it was a low, dark and unbelieving chuckle that grew deeper and deeper until it echoed off the expensive wood panels.

And that made Olivia flinch.

Benjamin straightened, slowly turning toward the window and then a cold smile stretched across his face.

"Well—" he exhaled. "Isn’t this interesting."

Olivia stepped back instinctively. "What—what are you laughing at?"

Benjamin wiped the corner of his eye, still smirking. "My eldest son is getting married. Should I not be happy?"

Olivia stared at him as if he had gone mad. "Are you serious? You were against this two days ago! You almost fought with Gregory and your mother and now—"

"Now—" Benjamin cut in, "things have worked out beautifully." He tilted his head. "Unexpected but beautiful."

Olivia’s breath hitched and she narrowed her eyes. "You are hiding something."

He smiled. It was the kind of smile that meant he was very much hiding something.

"And you—" he replied calmly, "are very nosy."

Olivia opened her mouth to argue but then she remembered something far more urgent — Jack.

"If Jack hears this from someone else first, he will lose his mind," she muttered under her breath, already turning toward the door. "I need to tell him."

Benjamin didn’t stop her. He didn’t even spare her a look as she hurried out, closing the door behind her.

The moment the door shut, he leaned against the desk, rubbing a hand over his face, not in frustration but in something disturbingly close to triumph.

So the little Carter princess finally said yes and Gregory folded first. To make things even better, Margaret helped.

Evelyn Carter would soon be Evelyn Reid and the land would be within arm’s reach.

A small price was the shares Margaret had forced him to sign off on which he never intended to hand out but Benjamin wasn’t bothered.

Shares could be controlled, it could be manipulated and also taken back but that land, it was priceless.

The shares were a very small price He had to pay.

He looked down at his reflection in the glass and a dangerous glint flickered in his eyes.

His mother had completely blindsided him with the shares. She had outplayed him there but Benjamin was a man who knew how to pivot.

And this?

This was better than anything he could have predicted.

He didn’t expect Evelyn to agree so soon and he definitely hadn’t expected Gregory to surrender so quickly. In fact, he thought it would take forever to make him crave

He also didn’t expect the marriage to settle itself without him needing to move a single chess piece.

Everything was falling into place and was aligning beautifully just as he wanted.

He leaned back in his chair, crossing one leg over the other and his expression shifted to a calm, calculated satisfaction.

"Well done, Mother," he murmured under his breath. "You helped push the deal without even realizing it."

His smile deepened as he picked up a pen, twirling it between his fingers.

Soon, he will have closer access to the land and he can finally come up with a plan to put an end to something that has been haunting him for years.

Soon, Evelyn, who was the key to lock all his problems away, would be living under his roof, under his family name.

Benjamin closed his eyes briefly and whispered, "Everything is right where it should be."

He reached slowly for the drawer on his right and pulled out a worn leather folder.

It was the Willowood Land documents that had been gathering dust for years now.

He then placed them gently on the desk.

His fingers brushed the edge of the map and his eyes darkened, unreadable.

"Perfect," he breathed.

He closed the folder slowly, deliberately, like sealing a coffin.

A chilling calm settled over him.

"Welcome to the family, Evely Carter," he whispered.

And it wasn’t out of affection but out of control and something far more sinister.

The clock ticked again and Benjamin Reid smiled in the half-darkness, like a man who had just secured the next piece of a very dangerous puzzle.

....