Chapter 7
Eleanor tried to recover first.
She always did.
“This is a family matter,” she said, voice sharp but controlled.
Vivienne’s father looked at her torn gown.
“Is that what you call this?”
Eleanor stiffened.
Chloe stepped forward, trying to reclaim the audience.
“My ring was stolen.”
The security director looked at her.
“Then why was the guest searched before the ballroom was secured?”
Chloe blinked.
No answer came.
That question did not reveal footage.
Did not accuse anyone else.
Did not solve the theft.
It simply exposed the disorder Chloe had tried to disguise as justice.
Vivienne bent slightly to pick up her prenatal vitamins.
Her father moved instantly, but she lifted one hand.
“I can do it.”
He stopped.
She gathered the small bottle, her wallet, and the phone charger with shaking fingers.
The black access card remained on the floor.
For some reason, no one touched it.
Dominic stared at it like it had become dangerous.
Vivienne noticed.
So did her father.
Eleanor looked at Dominic.
“What is wrong with you?”
He did not answer.
That silence had a different shape from before.
Earlier, he had been cowardly.
Now he was afraid of something specific.
Vivienne straightened carefully.
The torn fabric shifted. She held it closed with dignity no one in the room had given her.
Her father removed his suit jacket and placed it gently around her shoulders.
Only then did Vivienne nearly cry again.
Not because she was weak.
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Because someone finally covered what others had tried to expose.
Read the full story 👉 Eleanor tried to call it a family matter, but Vivienne’s father saw a pregnant woman publicly torn open and refused the lie.
