Chapter 1 - The Glass
“Don’t drink that!”
Maya lunged across the ballroom before Daniel could lift the orange drink to his lips. The glass stayed intact, but the liquid splashed down the front of his tuxedo, staining the white shirt beneath and stopping the wedding colder than a fire alarm ever could.
Guests gasped behind them. Champagne glasses froze in midair. Claire turned so sharply beneath the chandelier that her veil trembled.
Daniel stared at Maya in disbelief. She was shaking, tears already on her face, the tiny scratches on her cheek bright against her olive skin. To half the room, she was only a maid who had ruined a millionaire’s wedding. To Claire, she was something worse.
“I saw what she put in it,” Maya said.
Claire stepped forward instantly. “She’s lying! Get her out of here!”
But Maya was already reaching into her apron pocket. Her fingers trembled around a black smartphone. When she raised it, the whole ballroom leaned with her.
The vertical video on the screen showed Claire’s white lace sleeves, the table, the tall glass, and Claire’s hand emptying a small white substance into Daniel’s drink.
No one spoke.
Daniel looked from the phone to Claire. For one terrible second, he seemed less angry than confused—as if his mind refused to fit the elegant bride in front of him with the woman on Maya’s screen.
Maya held his gaze, crying but steady.
May you like
“I was trying to save you.”
And Claire, for the first time that evening, looked afraid.
