CHAPTER 2: Victoria Enters the Lobby

The grand ballroom archway was fully visible when Victoria Lang stepped through it.

She did not appear suddenly. She came from the bright ballroom beyond, one elegant foot crossing the threshold, then the next. Her black off-shoulder gown caught the chandelier light. Diamond earrings framed her face. In her right hand, she held one champagne flute by the stem as if even her boredom deserved decoration.

Victoria was thirty-six, white, wealthy, and accustomed to rooms opening around her.

She saw the small crowd first.

Then Elena kneeling beside Mrs. Whitmore.

Then the guests watching.

Her expression formed before she understood anything.

A cold smile.

“How dramatic,” Victoria said, approaching. “Trying to impress the rich guests?”

The words fell over the lobby like spilled wine.

Elena looked up.

For one second, hurt crossed her face. Not surprise. Hurt. The familiar kind that comes when someone reduces your humanity to your job before asking why you are on the floor.

“She couldn’t breathe,” Elena said. “I was helping her.”

Victoria looked down at Mrs. Whitmore as if the elderly woman were an inconvenience to the evening’s schedule.

The champagne flute remained in Victoria’s right hand. She did not lower it.

“Then call someone qualified.”

Elena’s voice stayed calm.

“I did.”