Chapter 4
The mansion security log showed a Christmas party with one hundred and twelve guests.
No invitation had been sent to me.
My driver asked whether he should alert the household.
“No.”
The word surprised both of us.
I entered through the west corridor shortly before eleven on Christmas Eve.
The music shook the glass doors.
Champagne cases lined the service hallway.
Caterers carried trays past arrangements of imported roses and white orchids.
No one noticed the owner of the house walking through his own party.
That was Bianca’s real talent.
She did not merely spend money.
She made my absence feel permanent.
I found unopened invoices addressed to her beside the ballroom entrance.
Designer jewelry.
French champagne.
A private orchestra.
Custom Christmas gifts for guests.
More than most families earned in years spent on one night.
Still, I did not care about the money.
I cared that I had not seen my daughters.
I asked a server where they were.
He looked confused.
“Children?”
“My daughters.”
His face changed.
“Mrs. Whitmore said the children were staying with relatives.”
They had no relatives in Aspen.
I moved toward the ballroom.
Bianca stood on the banquet table, laughing beneath the chandelier.
Guests danced around her.
Someone had placed a diamond tiara in her hair.
I did not enter.
Not yet.
A sound came from the darker family dining room beyond the double doors.
A cough.
Small.
Suppressed.
I pushed through.
The temperature dropped immediately.
The fireplace had almost burned out.
The curtains were closed.
No Christmas lights.
No tree.
Four glasses of ice water stood on the wooden table beside one plate containing several pieces of moldy bread.
Then something moved below the table.
Ava saw me first.
She placed one finger against her lips.
Not playfully.
Warning me to stay quiet.
Grace was curled beneath a chair.
Chloe held Mia’s hand.
All four were barefoot.
The laughter from the ballroom continued through the wall.
For a moment, I could not move.
Then Ava reached for the bread.
That was when Lorraine entered with Theo, the child of one of Bianca’s friends, and another young guest.
Lorraine seated them at the table and ordered fresh food from a passing server.
She did not acknowledge my daughters beneath her chair.
“Grandma?” Mia whispered.
Lorraine kicked the chair leg sharply.
Then lifted a silver fork toward Theo.
“Now that is a child this family can be proud of.”
May you like
I opened the door fully.
Read the full story 👉 Ethan discovered that the party guests believed his daughters were away while the girls were hidden only a few rooms from the celebration.
