Chapter 8
The eighteen first-round guests who did not raise their glasses again were not innocent.
Some had laughed.
Some recorded me.
Some enjoyed the spectacle until consequences appeared.
I did not expel all of them.
Cowardice is ugly.
Not always conspiracy.
I spoke to each.
Three had been told the hose was part of a staged Bellini joke.
That explained initial laughter.
Not the slap.
They admitted they should have stopped.
Seven followed the crowd.
Pathetic.
Four genuinely supported Adrian taking more authority but had not expected humiliation.
Four simply disliked me.
Fair.
Leadership collects enemies.
I preferred honest dislike to false loyalty.
The twelve who raised glasses again were different.
Six had received promises from Grant.
Commercial opportunities.
Introductions.
Preferred event access.
Two expected positions near Adrian.
One wanted his daughter placed socially near a Bellini cousin.
Three simply believed power was changing and wanted to be seen early on the winning side.
Those three interested me most.
No ideology.
No affection.
Weather vanes.
I removed all twelve from sensitive Bellini gatherings for a year.
Not exile.
May you like
Distance.
Let them rediscover whether relationships existed without proximity to power.
