CHAPTER 5: The Thing in the Wine
The first person to truly look was not a donor, a board member, or a security guard.
It was an old waiter named Sam Pierce.
Sam had worked banquets for thirty-seven years. He had seen guests faint, brides run, politicians lie, and rich men throw tantrums over cold soup. He had also seen enough strange accidents to know when a child’s fear was not acting.
“Hold on,” Sam said.
Eleanor shot him a warning look. “This does not concern you.”
Sam ignored her and approached Ethan slowly. “Son, keep the glass still.”
Ethan obeyed immediately.
Sam took a small flashlight from his vest pocket. He used it to read table numbers in dim halls, but now he angled the beam down through the crystal. The red liquid glowed like a jewel.
The room leaned in.
At first, there was only wine.
Then the black shape moved.
It unfurled against the bottom of the glass, thin legs bending beneath a glossy body.
Someone screamed.
Eleanor stumbled backward so quickly her chair scraped the marble.
Richard cursed under his breath. Mara clapped both hands over her mouth.
Sam’s face went pale. “Nobody touch that glass.”
Ethan’s arms began to shake harder now that people finally believed him.
“What is it?” Mara whispered.
Sam did not answer immediately. He looked toward the kitchen, then toward the head table, then at Eleanor.
“It looks like a spider,” he said. “And not the harmless kind.”
May you like
The ballroom erupted.
For the first time all night, Eleanor Vale had no speech ready.
