CHAPTER 6: The Second Glass
Security arrived within seconds, but they did not know what to do.
The gala had prepared for protesters, medical emergencies, and drunk donors. It had not prepared for a child holding a crystal glass with something alive inside it.
“Put it on the table,” a guard ordered.
Ethan looked at Sam.
Sam shook his head. “Not near anyone’s hands. Bring a sealed container from the kitchen. Now.”
Mara wrapped an arm around Ethan’s shoulders. He leaned into her but kept his grip steady. His small fingers had turned white around the stem.
Eleanor stared at the glass as if it had betrayed her.
Richard Harlan was staring too, but not in horror.
He looked angry.
Sam noticed.
So did Ethan.
On the table in front of Eleanor, there was another empty glass. Same pattern. Same crystal. Same red stain around the rim. But one detail was wrong. The lipstick mark was not Eleanor’s shade.
Ethan pointed. “That one was switched.”
Richard’s eyes snapped toward him.
“What did you say?” Eleanor asked.
Ethan’s voice was small but clear. “When the waiter passed behind your chair, the man beside you moved the glasses. I thought maybe it was an accident. Then I saw the black thing.”
Richard stood. “This is ridiculous.”
But Mara had already seen it too: the way Richard’s hand hovered near his jacket pocket, the way his face hardened when Ethan spoke.
The scandal had changed shape.
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It was no longer about a rude child.
It was about who wanted Eleanor Vale to drink from that glass.
