CHAPTER 1: THE GIRL THEY WANTED TO HUMILIATE / Chapter 1 / 9 · 60 views

CHAPTER 1: MARK’S CRUEL GAME

Mark Delaney loved two things more than anything in the world: money and applause.

His restaurant, The Golden Laurel, was not just a business to him. It was a stage. Every chandelier, every imported chair, every bottle of wine on display was chosen to remind people that he had climbed higher than them.

But Mark did not only enjoy being admired.

He enjoyed making others feel small.

Anna knew that better than anyone.

For three years, she had worked in his kitchen. She arrived before sunrise and left after midnight. She covered double shifts when others quit. She accepted late payments, insults, and impossible demands because she had rent to pay and an old father’s medical bills waiting at home.

Mark never thanked her.

He called her “kitchen girl” more often than her name.

That night, the restaurant was filled with investors, businessmen, lawyers, and family friends. Mark had invited them to celebrate his daughter Emma’s return from Europe, where she had studied music under famous teachers.

Emma was beautiful, graceful, and expensive in every way Anna was not allowed to be. Her dark dress shimmered beneath the chandelier. Her diamond bracelet flashed each time she lifted her glass. She smiled like someone who had never feared an unpaid bill.

Mark wrapped an arm around Emma’s shoulders and looked at Anna like she was dirt on his polished floor.

“My daughter will play first,” he said. “Then you will play.”

Emma smiled faintly.

One of the guests laughed. “This should be interesting.”

Anna’s throat tightened.

“Mr. Delaney,” she whispered, “please. I didn’t mean anything.”

Mark leaned closer. “Then you should have kept your mouth shut.”

The room became silent.

Then Mark stepped back and announced, “If this cook plays better than my daughter, I’ll give her the restaurant.”

More laughter.

“But when she fails,” he added coldly, “she leaves tonight with nothing.”

No one defended Anna.