Dinner of Knives
Chapter 05 - Dinner of Knives
By morning, the gates of Hawthorne Hall were crowded with news vans. A photograph of Elena holding a silver tray had already appeared online beside headlines calling her THE MYSTERY MAID.
Vivienne wanted the staff dismissed for the day, but Elena insisted on helping with breakfast. Routine was the only thing keeping her steady.
When she entered the breakfast room, Celeste sat at the long table scrolling through her phone. Regina read the financial pages as though nothing had happened.
Celeste lifted her coffee. “The public thinks you are charming. Orphan, servant, secret princess. It is the sort of story people love because they never have to live it.”
Elena set down a plate. “I am not asking them to love me.”
“No. You are asking them to hand you my life.”
Vivienne entered before Elena could answer. “Your life was never a company, Celeste.”
Celeste stood. “You promised me.”
“I promised to consider you. I did not promise to ignore a lost child.”
Regina closed the newspaper. “And what happens if the test is negative? Will you apologize after destroying my daughter in public?”
Vivienne met her gaze. “I will apologize to Elena for allowing your daughter to treat her as less than human.”
Celeste’s face flushed. She reached for the nearest glass and tipped it deliberately. Orange juice spread across the table and ran over Elena’s hands.
“Clean it,” she said.
No one moved.
Elena looked at the cloth beside the plate, then at Celeste. A year earlier, she would have obeyed without thinking. That morning, something inside her refused to bend.
“You spilled it,” Elena said. “You clean it.”
Celeste slapped her.
The sound cracked through the room.
Elena staggered one step, hand rising to her cheek. Vivienne’s cane fell from her fingers. Regina whispered her daughter’s name, but not with concern—with warning.
Thomas Reed appeared in the doorway carrying a sealed brown envelope.
Everyone saw the black lettering across the front.
DNA RESULTS.
Celeste’s hand was still raised.
Thomas looked at Elena’s reddening cheek, then at Vivienne. “The laboratory verified the samples twice.”
Vivienne retrieved her cane and straightened.
“Read it here,” she said.
Regina stood so quickly her chair struck the floor. “This is a private family matter.”
Vivienne’s eyes did not leave Elena.
May you like
“It stopped being private when a member of this family struck her in front of witnesses.”
Thomas broke the seal.
