I watched from the sidelines, chest tight with anger, as Daniel held Rachel close. Her voice was sweet, practiced. “Brother Daniel, I’m so grateful for your guidance. I’ll obey you from now on.” The words twisted in my gut. She had never been anything more than a servant, yet here she was, basking in Daniel’s protection, and even worse—bearing his child.
Daniel’s expression shifted, frustration and caution flickering in his eyes. “Catherine, we’ve been through twenty years together. I don’t want conflict. But you injured one of my men. You need to apologize.”
Apologize? I laughed inwardly. The man he carefully trained, Arthur, had begged for mercy at my hands, revealing the coward beneath Daniel’s stern exterior. And Rachel—how long had she been scheming behind the scenes?
I moved quietly among the crowd, letting my presence remind Daniel and everyone else who truly held the Harbor docks’ power. “Daniel Wright may be the master of the docks,” I thought, “but the docks themselves belong to the Summers family. And I am the rightful heir.”