CHAPTER 2: Mud on the Marble
Victoria caught Lily by the shoulders before the child could answer. Her jeweled fingers pressed into the torn coat, and her nose wrinkled at the smell of rain, street dust, and fear.
The music did not stop, but conversations began to fall quiet.
“Look at her,” Victoria said, turning Lily slightly so the guests could see the mud on her face. “This is a charity gala, not a shelter line.”
A few guests laughed. Not loudly. Just enough to hurt.
Lily tried to pull away, but Victoria held her tighter.
“I’m not here to steal,” Lily whispered. “My mother told me—”
“Your mother?” Victoria cut in. “Your mother should have taught you not to sneak into private events.”
The words landed harder than a slap.
Lily’s eyes filled, but she kept her hands around the pouch. She would not let go. It was the only reason she had survived the night.
At the center table, an older man in a black tuxedo lifted a crystal glass toward his mouth. Edward Ashborne, founder of the hotel empire, had been smiling politely at a banker’s joke. Then he heard the child’s voice.
Something in it stopped him.
He lowered the glass.
Across the room, Victoria bent closer to Lily. “Who sent you? A reporter? A thief? Some street scammer?”
Lily shook her head. “Please, I need Mr. Ashborne.”
Victoria’s face hardened.
“My husband’s family name is not something dirty children get to use.”
Several guests looked away. One woman touched her necklace, uncomfortable but silent. Another raised her phone as if the humiliation was entertainment.
Victoria’s grip climbed from Lily’s shoulders to her face. She held the child’s cheeks between both hands, forcing her to look up.
“Tell the truth,” Victoria hissed. “What did you come here to take?”
May you like
Lily’s tears slipped over the dirt on her skin.
“I came to return what was stolen.”
