Chapter 2 - THE ENGAGEMENT VEIL The dining room was so quiet I could hear the rain lashing against the floor-to-ceiling windows.
Dominic didn’t raise his voice. He didn’t stand up. He simply looked at Vivienne, his dark eyes completely unreadable.
“You redirected a charity fund for children to pay for caviar and champagne?”
Vivienne’s flawless complexion drained of color. She looked at Victor, her eyes wide with a sudden, frantic panic.
“Dominic, no,” she stammered, her manicured hands gripping the edge of the mahogany table. “I didn’t. Victor, tell him! You told me the catering budget was coming from the offshore accounts. I never touched the school fund!”
Victor calmly picked up his wine glass. He didn’t look at her.
“Vivienne, please,” Victor sighed, playing the part of a weary elder perfectly. “You came to my office on Tuesday. You said the wedding planner needed another hundred thousand, and you didn't want to bother Dominic. You explicitly asked me to pull it from the charitable trusts.”
“That is a lie!” Vivienne’s voice cracked, dropping her sophisticated facade entirely. She stood up, her chair scraping harshly against the hardwood. “You’re setting me up!”
Dominic held up a single hand. The gesture was small, but the entire room froze.
“Lena,” Dominic said without looking away from his fiancée. “Take Emma to the kitchen. Have Chef pack the food she asked for.”
“Yes, Mr. Caruso,” I said quietly.
I gently touched Emma’s shoulder. She slid out of her chair, her small hands clutching the blue purse tight against her chest. She didn't look at Vivienne. She kept her eyes glued to the floor as we walked out of the heavy tension of the dining room.
The moment the swinging doors of the kitchen closed behind us, Emma let out a shaky breath.
“Is my dad going to be mad at me?” she whispered.
“No, sweetie,” I said, kneeling down to her eye level. “Your dad is upset about adult things. You did a beautiful thing for your friend.”
Chef was already packing a small insulated tote bag. He didn't just pack dinner rolls; he put in sliced roasted turkey, fresh fruit, and three large chocolate chip cookies. He handed it to me with a tight, knowing nod.
“I’m going to get your coat from the closet, Emma,” I said. “Wait right here with Chef.”
I walked down the quiet back hallway toward the front foyer. The engagement dinner was officially ruined. I could hear the muffled sounds of Dominic’s low, commanding voice from the dining room, followed by the sound of Vivienne sobbing.
I opened the heavy oak doors of the guest closet to retrieve Emma’s yellow raincoat. As I reached for it, my elbow brushed against Victor’s heavy cashmere overcoat.
It slipped off the hanger, pooling onto the marble floor.
I knelt to pick it up. As I lifted the coat, something heavy slid out of the deep inner pocket and clattered onto the tile.
It was a thick bundle of rubber-banded envelopes.
I shouldn't have looked. I was just the housemaid. But one of the envelopes had fallen open, and a stack of crisp, hundred-dollar bills spilled out. Underneath the money was a heavy, silver pocket watch.
I recognized the watch immediately. It belonged to Dominic’s father. It had been stolen from the family safe three months ago—an inside job that had nearly torn the Caruso family apart trying to find the traitor.
Victor had the watch.
He hadn't just redirected the school funds to pay for the wedding. He was stealing from the family and framing Vivienne to cover his tracks.
My heart hammered against my ribs. I reached down to put the watch back into the coat pocket, my hands trembling violently.
As my fingers brushed the cashmere, a shadow fell over me.
May you like
I looked up. Victor was standing in the doorway of the closet, a cold, empty smile on his face.
“Finding something you shouldn't have, Lena?” he asked softly.
