Chapter 4
The event planner’s name was Danielle Brooks.
She came onto the lawn wrapped in a staff blanket.
No injuries.
Terrified.
Serena immediately walked toward her.
“Oh, sweetheart.”
Warm voice.
Concerned face.
Perfect hostess.
Eleanor watched Danielle recoil.
Small.
Automatic.
Serena noticed too.
Her sweetness sharpened.
“What happened?”
Danielle looked at Grant.
He smiled.
“Careful.”
Eleanor’s eyes moved to him.
Grant kept smiling.
“Stress makes people remember things incorrectly.”
Danielle lowered her gaze.
There it was.
Fear with history behind it.
Eleanor stepped between them.
“Look at me.”
Danielle did.
“Who locked you inside?”
Silence.
Grant laughed.
“She doesn’t know.”
Eleanor waited.
Danielle whispered:
“Mr. Cole.”
Grant rolled his eyes.
“For God’s sake.”
Serena sighed dramatically.
“This poor girl has been overwhelmed all week.”
Then she looked at Danielle.
“Remember how many mistakes you made?”
Danielle’s face reddened.
Serena continued.
“The flowers.”
“The seating.”
“The ribbon count.”
Each sentence sounded gentle.
Each one was a knife.
“You cried yesterday because I asked you to redo one table.”
Danielle whispered:
“Three times.”
Serena smiled.
“And you were paid.”
Then colder:
“People who are paid don’t get to complain about being tired.”
Eleanor’s jaw tightened.
Danielle's hands trembled.
Serena noticed.
“See?”
She looked around.
“Drama.”
Eleanor asked:
“Why did Grant lock you in the cellar?”
Danielle swallowed.
“I saw the van.”
Grant’s smile vanished.
“What did you see?”
“Boxes.”
“What kind?”
“Black.”
“How many?”
“Six.”
Serena snapped:
“You never saw inside.”
Danielle flinched.
Eleanor turned.
Again.
Too late.
“You know what she saw.”
Serena froze.
Danielle continued quickly.
“There were Bellini pins.”
Silence.
Capo pins.
Family insignia.
Objects outsiders shouldn’t possess.
“How many?” Eleanor asked.
Danielle shook her head.
“Dozens.”
Adrian stared at Serena.
“Why?”
She turned on him.
“Oh, don’t start.”
“Why were there Bellini pins in your catering van?”
Serena’s face hardened.
“You want to challenge me now?”
Adrian said nothing.
She smiled cruelly.
“That’s new.”
Then:
“Where was that courage when Mommy got wet?”
Adrian flinched.
Eleanor’s expression changed.
Serena saw it.
Kept going.
“Your son isn’t a man when you’re in the room.”
She looked at Eleanor.
“He waits for your face before he decides what he thinks.”
Adrian’s jaw tightened.
Serena turned back.
“I was fixing that.”
“By humiliating her?”
“By showing you she bleeds.”
Eleanor spoke.
“I didn’t bleed.”
Serena smiled.
“Emotionally.”
Grant laughed.
Eleanor ignored both.
“What were the pins for?”
No answer.
Danielle looked at Eleanor.
“There were jackets too.”
Serena closed her eyes.
“Danielle.”
The planner stopped.
Serena’s voice became quiet.
“You really want to do this?”
Danielle’s face drained.
Eleanor stepped closer to Serena.
“What does that mean?”
Serena smiled.
“She needs this job.”
Then louder, for everyone:
“Don’t you?”
Danielle stared at the ground.
Serena’s smile widened.
“Rent.”
“Mother’s medication.”
“Little brother in college.”
Eleanor went still.
Serena knew everything.
Not because she cared.
Because information made people controllable.
“Tell them you misunderstood.”
Danielle said nothing.
Serena’s voice sharpened.
“Tell them.”
Eleanor cut in.
“She answers herself.”
Serena glared.
Danielle finally whispered:
“The jackets had Bellini emblems.”
Eleanor looked at Thomas.
False Bellini men.
Prepared before the party.
She turned toward the east gate.
An unattended entrance.
A catering van.
Dozens of pins.
Jackets.
May you like
Someone wasn’t simply trying to embarrass her.
They were preparing people to move around the estate looking like her own men.
