Chapter 2 - THE SECRET BETWEEN DANIEL AND CELESTE
Nora left the ballroom with Lucy in her arms.
She did not look back.
Daniel called after her.
"Nora!"
She kept walking.
"Nora, stop."
She didn't.
Arthur's security team quietly blocked Daniel's path.
Nora heard him arguing behind her.
For once, she didn't care.
Lucy needed her.
That was all that mattered.
At the emergency dental clinic, Lucy sat curled against Nora while a pediatric dentist examined her mouth.
The knocked-out tooth had been a baby tooth.
The second tooth could probably be saved.
The cut inside Lucy's lip needed treatment.
But there was another injury.
A bruise was beginning to appear across Lucy's upper arm.
Nora stared at it.
"Where did that come from?"
Lucy looked away.
"Sweetheart?"
Lucy pulled her sleeve down.
"It's nothing."
Nora's stomach tightened.
"Did Celeste do that too?"
Lucy didn't answer.
"Lucy."
Her daughter's eyes filled with tears.
"Please don't be mad."
"At you?"
Nora took her hand.
"Never."
Lucy looked toward the door.
Then whispered.
"She grabbed me before."
Nora went still.
"When?"
"Last month."
Nora felt the room tilt.
"Where?"
"At Daddy's office."
Nora stared at her.
"You were at Daddy's office?"
Lucy nodded.
"Daddy told me not to tell you."
Every word became heavier.
"Why?"
Lucy swallowed.
"He said it was a surprise."
Nora's heart started pounding.
"What happened?"
"I went with Grandma."
Daniel's mother had occasionally taken Lucy for afternoons.
Nora remembered one afternoon in particular.
Daniel had claimed to be in Boston.
Lucy had returned strangely quiet.
Nora had asked what was wrong.
Lucy said she was tired.
Now Nora understood there had been more.
"I saw Daddy."
Nora squeezed her daughter's hand.
"Okay."
"He was with Celeste."
The room became silent.
Lucy looked frightened.
"They were kissing."
Nora closed her eyes.
For years she had suspected.
Perfume that wasn't hers.
Late meetings.
Locked phones.
Receipts from restaurants Daniel claimed he had never visited.
But suspicion was one thing.
Hearing it from her daughter was another.
"What happened when they saw you?"
Lucy began crying again.
"Celeste got mad."
"At you?"
Lucy nodded.
"She said I was spying."
Nora felt something dark and violent move through her chest.
"What did Daddy do?"
Lucy wiped her eyes.
"He told me to stop crying."
Nora couldn't speak.
"And Celeste grabbed my arm."
Lucy touched the bruise.
"She said if I told you, Daddy would leave us."
Nora covered her mouth.
Lucy started sobbing.
"I didn't want Daddy to leave."
Nora pulled her close.
"Oh, sweetheart."
"I'm sorry."
"No."
Nora held her tighter.
"You have nothing to be sorry for."
"But I didn't tell you."
"Because adults scared you into staying quiet."
Nora kissed her forehead.
"That is not your fault."
Her phone vibrated.
Daniel.
She declined the call.
It rang again.
Declined.
Again.
Then a message appeared.
COME HOME NOW.
Nora stared at it.
Another message followed.
WE NEED TO FIX THIS BEFORE IT GETS OUT.
Not "How is Lucy?"
Not "Is she okay?"
Not "I'm sorry."
Only damage control.
Nora took a screenshot.
Then another message appeared.
IF YOU DESTROY MY CAREER OVER THIS, DON'T EXPECT ME TO FORGIVE YOU.
Nora almost laughed.
She saved that too.
Arthur called five minutes later.
"Nora?"
"Yes."
"How is Lucy?"
The fact that he asked before anything else nearly made her cry.
"She's going to be okay."
"Good."
There was a pause.
"There's something you need to know."
Nora looked at Lucy.
"What?"
"The ballroom footage wasn't the only footage we found."
Nora's stomach tightened.
"What do you mean?"
"Hotel security reviewed the corridor outside the ballroom."
Arthur's voice became colder.
"Daniel and Celeste arrived separately."
"Okay."
"They met in a service corridor approximately forty minutes before the incident."
Nora closed her eyes.
Arthur continued.
"They were arguing."
"About what?"
"No audio."
Nora exhaled.
"But Daniel gave Celeste something."
"What?"
"An envelope."
Nora's eyes opened.
"Do you know what was inside?"
"No."
Arthur paused.
"But Celeste put it in her handbag."
Nora remembered Celeste leaving the ballroom without that handbag.
"Where is the bag?"
"Security recovered it from the coatroom."
Nora's heart started pounding.
"Arthur."
"Yes?"
"Don't open it."
There was silence.
"Why?"
"Because whatever is inside may matter legally."
Arthur understood immediately.
"I'll preserve it."
Nora looked at Lucy.
There was something else.
Something bothering her.
"Arthur?"
"Yes?"
"Why are you helping me?"
He didn't answer immediately.
When he finally spoke, his voice was quieter.
"Because thirty-two years ago, I watched a woman I loved stay with a man who treated fear like obedience."
Nora said nothing.
"Everyone around her knew."
Arthur continued.
"Nobody interfered because it wasn't considered polite."
"What happened?"
"She stayed."
His voice hardened.
"And eventually there was nothing left of her except apologies."
Nora understood.
"Your mother?"
"My sister."
Arthur paused.
"I promised myself I would never watch something like that happen again and call it somebody else's business."
Nora looked down at Lucy.
"Thank you."
"Don't thank me yet."
Arthur's tone changed.
"Daniel is coming to the clinic."
Nora stood.
"What?"
"He left the hotel through the underground garage."
Fear moved through her.
"How do you know?"
"My driver saw him."
Nora looked toward the clinic entrance.
"He's coming here."
"Probably."
Nora tightened her grip around Lucy.
Arthur said four words.
"Don't leave the building."
Then the elevator outside the clinic chimed.
Lucy heard it.
Her face changed.
"Mommy?"
Footsteps approached.
Fast.
Angry.
Daniel's voice came from the hallway.
"Nora!"
Lucy grabbed her mother's hand.
May you like
And whispered.
"Please don't let Daddy take me."
