Chapter 1 - The Lobby Incident
The designer bag slipped from Victoria’s shaking hands onto the marble floor.
The heavy clasp cracked against the polished stone, echoing loudly through the dead silent lobby.
Wealthy guests lowered their phones, the scandalous entertainment suddenly turning uncomfortably real.
Victoria fell to her knees, ignoring the expensive fabric of her gown pooling in the spilled champagne.
She reached out with a trembling hand to touch the little girl's tear-stained cheek.
The child flinched, clutching the old photograph tightly against her chest.
It had been five years since Victoria’s sister, Sarah, was banished from the family for marrying a man their father hated.
Five years of absolute silence, and now this fragile, filthy child was standing in front of her.
"What is your name, sweetie?" Victoria whispered, her perfectly manicured facade completely shattered.
"Maya," the girl replied, her voice barely a raspy squeak.
The hotel manager rushed forward, waving frantically for the security guards to disperse the whispering crowd.
"Ms. Hale, I am so sorry about this disturbance, we will handle this immediately," the manager said.
Victoria shot him a glare so lethal it made the grown man physically step back.
"If anyone touches my niece, I will buy this hotel just to fire you," Victoria snapped.
She looked back at Maya, noticing the dark bruises wrapping around the child's tiny wrists.
Someone had hurt her, and very recently.
"Maya, where is your mother?" Victoria asked, dread pooling heavily in her stomach.
The little girl looked over her shoulder toward the spinning revolving doors of the hotel entrance.
"She told me to find you before the bad men caught us."
The flashing red and blue lights of police cruisers suddenly illuminated the rain-slicked windows of the lobby.
Four men in dark uniforms pushed through the glass doors, their hands resting menacingly on their holstered weapons.
Victoria sighed in relief, thinking that legitimate help had finally arrived.
But Maya grabbed Victoria's diamond necklace, pulling her close in sheer panic.
May you like
"Auntie Victoria, hide me," Maya begged.
"Those aren't real police officers."
