Chapter 5 - The Mafia Boss Turned the Room Against Her
Sabine stared at the employees.
“You think this changes anything?”
Nobody answered.
She looked toward the guests.
“These people work for us.”
Rafe's voice came from behind her.
“No.”
Sabine turned.
“They work for the hotel.”
He stepped beside Billy.
“And the hotel works for me.”
Silence.
Rafe looked at Puit.
“Did you instruct employees never to argue with guests?”
Puit swallowed.
“It's a service standard.”
“Even when they're right?”
Puit said nothing.
Rafe glanced at Marisol.
She nodded.
Rafe's face hardened.
“Effective immediately, that rule is gone.”
Puit opened his mouth.
“And so are you.”
“What?”
“You're fired.”
“Mr. Santangelo—”
“Security will escort you out.”
Two hotel security officers approached.
Puit looked around for support.
None came.
As he left, Sabine laughed bitterly.
“Very dramatic.”
Rafe turned toward her.
“You poured wine over an employee in front of three hundred witnesses.”
“She embarrassed me.”
“How?”
Sabine pointed at Billy.
“She stared at my dress.”
Billy almost smiled.
“That was enough?”
“You knew what it was.”
“Yes.”
“You were looking at me like I was a thief.”
Billy met her eyes.
“You were wearing my father's work.”
Sabine stepped closer.
“I made that design famous.”
“You stole it.”
“I made it matter.”
Billy's expression changed.
There it was.
Not a confession in the legal sense.
But close enough to make every camera swing toward Sabine.
Priya whispered to her operator:
“Keep rolling.”
Sabine heard her.
“Turn those cameras off!”
Priya shook her head.
“Our contract says continuous recording.”
“I hired you!”
“And the footage is contractually archived.”
Sabine turned toward Rafe.
“Do something.”
Rafe stared at her.
“I am.”
He reached into his jacket.
Sabine's expression softened.
“Rafe…”
He removed a small velvet box.
Whispers spread.
Sabine looked at the box.
Rafe opened it.
Inside was an engagement ring.
He removed the ring.
Sabine smiled uncertainly.
“See? This has gone far enough.”
Rafe took her left hand.
Then he removed the ring already on her finger.
Sabine stared.
“What are you doing?”
“Ending the engagement.”
Her face went white.
“You're humiliating me.”
Rafe glanced toward Billy, whose uniform was still stained dark red.
“No.”
He closed the box.
“I'm refusing to help you humiliate anyone else.”
Sabine's voice dropped.
“You need me.”
Rafe gave a quiet laugh.
“That may be the first thing tonight with less evidence behind it than your foundation.”
Several guests stood.
A major sponsor approached the stage.
“Second Thread has our annual pledge.”
Sabine brightened.
The sponsor continued:
“Had.”
Another donor spoke.
“We're suspending ours pending an audit.”
Then another.
And another.
Phones came out.
Fashion editors began making calls.
Sabine looked around the ballroom as her empire started disappearing in real time.
“You're all believing a waitress?”
An elderly designer near the front stood.
“No.”
He pointed toward Billy's documents.
“We're believing evidence.”
Billy looked at Sabine.
Sabine's eyes filled with fury.
“You planned this.”
Billy shook her head.
“I planned to expose what happened to my father.”
She looked down at her stained uniform.
“You planned the rest.”
Rafe turned toward Priya.
“Do you have the wine incident?”
“Every second.”
“Preserve it.”
Sabine walked toward the exit.
At the doorway, she stopped.
“You think you've won, Billy?”
Billy looked at her.
“No.”
“Then what do you think this is?”
Billy glanced at her mother.
Then at the hotel workers standing behind her.
“A beginning.”
Sabine left.
For several seconds, nobody spoke.
Then Rafe looked at Billy's injured hand.
“You need stitches.”
Billy looked down.
“I forgot about that.”
“I didn't.”
Their eyes met.
May you like
And for the first time that night, Billy smiled.
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