CHAPTER 2: THE WOMAN IN THE WHEELCHAIR
Nobody moved.
Not Victoria Langford.
Not the guests.
Not even the security guards.
Emma stood frozen, her hand still wrapped around Victoria's wrist while the shattered wineglass sparkled across the marble floor like scattered diamonds.
Victoria was the first to speak.
"Take your hand off me."
Her voice was low.
Dangerously low.
Emma swallowed hard but didn't move.
The elderly woman in the wheelchair looked terrified.
"Please..." she whispered. "There's no need for this."
Victoria turned toward her.
"Oh, there is every need."
The ballroom grew even quieter.
Emma could feel hundreds of eyes watching her.
Her manager looked ready to faint.
"Emma..." he hissed from across the room. "Let go."
For a second she almost did.
Then she looked at the old woman.
The fear in her eyes reminded Emma of her father after the stroke.
Helpless.
Dependent.
Humiliated.
And something inside her refused to step aside.
"She's done nothing wrong," Emma said.
A collective gasp swept through the room.
Nobody spoke to Victoria Langford that way.
Nobody.
Victoria laughed once.
Cold.
Disbelieving.
"A waitress is lecturing me?"
"I don't care who you are."
The words escaped before Emma could stop them.
Instantly, she regretted them.
Across the ballroom, several guests exchanged nervous glances.
One senator quietly stepped backward.
A CEO suddenly became very interested in his drink.
Because everyone knew something Emma didn't.
Victoria Langford was powerful.
But the woman in the wheelchair was more powerful.
Much more.
And at that exact moment, a deep voice spoke from behind the crowd.
"She's right."
The words weren't loud.
They didn't need to be.
The room parted instantly.
As if an invisible force had pushed people aside.
And then Vincent Moretti stepped forward.
May you like
For the first time all night, Victoria Langford looked nervous.
And Emma realized she had just attracted the attention of the last man she ever wanted to notice her.
