Chapter 1 - The Scream Before the Gala
The scream reached Richard Sterling before the housekeeper could close the upstairs door.
He turned from the mirror, one hand still holding his black tie. Nine-year-old Maya stood beneath the chandelier in her white party dress, barefoot and trembling. Victoria Vance hovered nearby, clutching a crystal handbag.
“Richard, thank goodness,” Victoria said, her voice trembling just enough to sound frightened. “I was fixing Maya's dress, and she suddenly panicked.”
Maya ran to her father so quickly her shoes slipped on the marble. Richard caught her. She pressed her face against his tuxedo and locked both arms around his neck.
“Daddy, don't let her take me upstairs again.”
Richard looked at Victoria. Her eyes shone with tears, and her emerald earrings caught the light. He had trusted her to help Maya heal.
“Maya, sweetheart, what's wrong?” he asked.
Maya shook her head. Her fingers twisted into his lapel. When Victoria reached toward her, the child flinched so violently that Richard felt it through his arms.
“Don't touch me!” Maya cried.
Victoria stopped, then quickly softened her expression. “She's been having episodes for weeks. It's grief. The gala is important, Richard. We can't let a tantrum ruin it.”
Richard felt his old guilt rise. Two years earlier, Eleanor had died after an unexpected complication following childbirth. Since then, he had buried himself in his logistics company and told himself that money, tutors, and a beautiful home could give Maya a stable life.
Maya lifted her face. “It's not a tantrum. She took Mommy's key.”
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Richard stared at Victoria's crystal handbag.
For the first time that evening, his fiancée looked afraid.
