CHAPTER 5: The Father Arrives Too Late

Elliot Alden entered from the north corridor with two trustees behind him and a contract still in his hand.
He had missed the first cry. That would haunt him later. He had missed the sprint across the floor. He had missed the moment his son chose a server over the woman society called his mother.
But he did not miss the silence that followed.
Elliot saw Leo clinging to Mira. He saw Isadora standing like a statue carved from ice and money. He saw donors watching with the hunger of people pretending concern was not curiosity.
"What happened?" he asked.
Isadora turned first. "Nothing. Leo made a scene. Miss Lane encouraged it."
Mira's face went pale, but she kept one hand steady on the boy's back.
Leo lifted his wet face toward his father. His voice was small, but the ballroom had become quiet enough to carry it.
"She said Mommy can't come upstairs anymore. She said good boys forget servants."
Elliot's expression did not break loudly.
It broke by going very still.