Chapter 2 - The Waiter Who Wasn’t on the Guest List
By sunrise, Eleanor Whitmore had become America's favorite villain.
Television commentators replayed the fall.
Online videos had millions of views.
Outside Whitmore Tower, protesters gathered.
Inside the family boardroom, Ethan threw his phone onto the table.
“Cancel the press conference.”
Eleanor looked up.
“No.”
“Mom, anything you say will make this worse.”
“I've spent thirty years building this family's reputation.”
“And right now people think you threw Claire down a staircase!”
“I didn't.”
Ethan rubbed his forehead.
“I want to believe you.”
Eleanor's expression changed.
“Want to?”
Silence.
That hurt more than the accusations.
But Eleanor didn't show it.
Instead, she slid a photograph across the table.
It was a still image from the gala.
A blurred man stood near the staircase.
“The waiter.”
Ethan looked at it.
“So?”
“He wasn't employed by the hotel or catering company.”
“That proves nothing.”
“He disappeared immediately after Claire fell.”
“Mom.”
Ethan pushed the photograph back.
“Please stop.”
“Why?”
“Because every explanation sounds like you're trying to blame someone else.”
Eleanor stood.
“No. I'm trying to find the truth before you marry someone who may be lying to you.”
Ethan's chair scraped backward.
“Don't.”
“Don't what?”
“Turn this into another attack on Claire.”
“Then ask her one question.”
“What?”
“Why did she smile at me while they carried her out?”
Ethan stared at her.
“She had two cracked ribs.”
“She still smiled.”
“You're imagining things.”
“Am I?”
Ethan walked toward the door.
“The wedding is in twelve days.”
Eleanor's voice stopped him.
“Then we have twelve days.”
He turned.
“For what?”
“To find out who Claire Harper really is.”
That afternoon Detective Bennett called.
“We found something.”
Eleanor arrived at the hotel security office thirty minutes later.
Bennett pointed toward a monitor.
“Camera fourteen.”
The footage showed Claire approaching the staircase.
Then the mysterious waiter entered frame.
He briefly touched the railing.
Eleanor leaned closer.
“There.”
“What?”
“His hand.”
Bennett rewound.
The waiter appeared to attach something near the railing.
Then Claire climbed the stairs.
Eleanor arrived moments later.
Unfortunately, another guest blocked the camera during the actual fall.
Bennett sighed.
“This helps, but it doesn't prove Claire knew anything.”
“Find the waiter.”
“We're trying.”
The technician suddenly spoke.
“Detective?”
“Yes?”
“There's another problem.”
He switched screens.
“Someone remotely accessed the security system eleven minutes after the incident.”
Bennett frowned.
“What did they do?”
“Deleted footage from three cameras.”
Eleanor looked at her.
“Someone is cleaning up.”
That evening, Ethan entered Claire's hospital room carrying flowers.
Claire smiled.
“You came.”
“Of course.”
He kissed her forehead.
Then noticed her phone on the bed.
A message flashed across the screen.
UNKNOWN: She found the charm.
Ethan froze.
Claire quickly grabbed the phone.
“What was that?”
“Nothing.”
“Who found what charm?”
Claire's face changed.
Only slightly.
But Ethan knew her well enough to notice.
“Spam.”
“Spam knows about a charm?”
“Ethan.”
“Show me.”
Claire stared at him.
Then tears appeared.
“You don't trust me.”
“That's not what I said.”
“Your mother got to you.”
“Claire, show me the message.”
She turned away.
“No.”
That single word changed everything.
Ethan stepped back.
“Why?”
“Because I shouldn't have to prove myself to the man I'm marrying.”
“And I shouldn't have to beg my fiancée for an explanation.”
Claire looked at him.
For several seconds, neither spoke.
Then she whispered:
“You need to decide whose side you're on.”
Ethan's voice was quiet.
“I think that's exactly what someone wants me to do.”
He left.
Claire waited until the door closed.
Then she grabbed her phone and called someone.
“You idiot.”
A man's voice answered.
“What happened?”
“You texted me about the charm.”
“So?”
“Ethan saw it.”
Silence.
Then:
“We need to move faster.”
Claire looked toward the door.
“How fast?”
“Before Eleanor finds me.”
May you like
Claire's voice dropped.
“She already knows you exist.”
