Chapter 5 - I Brought Someone Too
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The string quartet in the corner of the ballroom swelled into a lively holiday carol, a stark, mocking contrast to the venomous tension vibrating between my husband and me.
Fiona shifted uncomfortably, adjusting the diamond necklace at her throat. She looked at Matthias, expecting him to silence me, expecting him to put the pregnant, emotional wife back in her designated corner.
“Evelyn, you are making a scene over nothing,” Matthias warned, trying to place a firm hand on my elbow to guide me away from the crowd.
I pulled my arm free with a sharp, violent jerk.
“Don't touch me,” I said, my voice echoing just loud enough to turn the heads of the two bank executives standing nearby.
Matthias froze, his face flushing with a mixture of embarrassment and rising anger. He lived for public perception. The Dre family name was built on the illusion of absolute, immaculate control.
“I don't know what you think you found out,” Matthias hissed, leaning in so close I could smell the expensive scotch on his breath. “But you are going to smile, you are going to mingle, and we are going to discuss your paranoia at home.”
I looked at him, feeling a sudden, overwhelming sense of calm wash over me. The fear of the last three weeks evaporated, replaced by a cold, surgical precision.
“Since you brought someone, Matthias,” I said, letting a small, dangerous smile touch my lips. “I brought someone too.”
Matthias stared at me, his brow furrowing in genuine confusion.
“What are you talking about?” he asked. “Who did you bring?”
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I didn't answer him. I simply shifted my gaze toward the massive, arched mahogany doors at the entrance of the ballroom. Right on cue, the heavy doors pushed open, and a hush fell over the immediate vicinity of the foyer.
A woman in her early fifties stepped inside, shaking the winter snow from her dark wool coat, carrying a slim, black leather portfolio under her arm.
