Chapter 1 - The Glass Shatters
Eleanor set her champagne glass down on the white linen table.
The crystal made a sharp sound that echoed through the silent vineyard pavilion.
My mother swallowed hard and tried to maintain her practiced smile.
"Oh, Amanda couldn’t make it," she repeated, her voice trembling slightly.
Eleanor did not look away from my mother’s pale face.
"I have lived for ninety-two years, Susan," Eleanor said.
"I know the difference between a schedule conflict and a deliberate exclusion."
Stephanie gripped Derek’s arm, her knuckles turning white.
"Grandma Eleanor, please, let's not ruin the reception," Derek whispered.
Eleanor slowly turned her gaze to her grandson.
"The only thing ruined here is this family's reputation," she replied coldly.
She picked up the phone that was resting on the table, the screen still glowing with my Tuscan wedding photo.
"This girl in the photo looks happier in a cheap dress than you do in a six-hundred-thousand-dollar gown, Stephanie," Eleanor noted.
Tears welled up in my sister's eyes, her favorite weapon whenever she was cornered.
"Amanda has always been jealous of me, she did this to hurt me," Stephanie sobbed.
Eleanor did not offer her a tissue.
Instead, she pulled a small, silver pen from her clutch.
She wrote something on a napkin and handed it to her private security guard.
"Find the number for Amanda's hotel in Italy," Eleanor commanded the man.
My father finally stood up, his face red with humiliation.
"Mrs. Sterling, there is no need to drag Amanda into this right now," he pleaded.
Eleanor adjusted her silk shawl and gave him a withering look.
"I am not dragging her in, I am pulling you all out into the light."
The entire room watched as the wealthy matriarch stood up from her seat of honor.
She walked out of the $650,000 party without taking a single bite of the cake.
My mother collapsed into her chair, realizing the merger she had orchestrated was falling apart.
Halfway around the world, in a quiet room in Florence, my cell phone began to ring in the middle of the night.
I looked at the unfamiliar international number flashing on the screen.
May you like
When I answered, the voice on the other end chilled me to the bone.
"Amanda, this is Eleanor Sterling, and we need to talk about the money your sister stole."
