Chapter 3 - The Unmasking
The party felt like it was shifting on its axis. Sloane’s smile faltered, replaced by a momentary flash of genuine confusion, then annoyance. "It’s a five-dollar notebook, Caleb. Don't be theatrical."
Caleb stepped away from her, his attention entirely on Grace and the teary-eyed toddler. He knelt down—a gesture that sent a ripple of shock through the assembled guests nearby. "Lily," he said, his voice warm and steady. "I hear you have something for me?"
Lily peeked up, her eyes wide. She nodded, reaching out to touch the journal in his hand. Caleb placed it back into her small palms. "Would you like to give it to me properly?"
As Grace watched, the billionaire—the man who decided the fates of thousands of employees—listened to a three-year-old explain, in breathless, broken sentences, why he needed a place to write his thoughts. Sloane stood behind him, her face turning a dangerous, mottled red.
"Grace," Caleb said, standing up. "Go to my office. Take Lily with you. Get her some of those crab cakes she’s probably been eyeing. I’ll be there in five minutes."
Grace hesitated, but the authority in his voice was absolute. She took Lily’s hand and retreated. As she reached the hallway, she heard Sloane’s voice—shrill, stripped of its social polish.
"You are embarrassing me, Caleb! That is a member of the staff! You are groveling to a housekeeper's child while our guests are watching!"
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"I am showing respect to a person, Sloane," Caleb replied, his voice terrifyingly calm. "Something you have proven tonight that you are incapable of."
The argument grew louder, a spectacle that effectively ended the party. The jazz quartet stopped playing. The elite guests began to drift toward the doors, sensing the atmosphere of a collapsing empire. Grace didn't look back; she knew that the man she had served for years had finally seen the truth about the woman standing next to him.
