Chapter 3 - The Broken Promise
Claire sat at her small laminate kitchen table in her studio apartment in Lambeth, staring at her bank balance on her laptop screen.
CURRENT BALANCE: £412.50
UPCOMING DIRECT DEBIT - RENT: £850.00 (DUE IN 4 DAYS)
Her hands were wrapped around an oversized mug of black coffee. She didn't regret what she had done. If she had to stand in that café a thousand times, she would make the exact same choice every single time.
Her late grandmother, Margaret, had always told her: “A spine isn't made of steel, Claire. It’s made of the choices you refuse to negotiate away.”
Margaret had run a tiny second-hand bookstore and tea shop called The Paper Lantern in Bloomsbury for thirty years before rising commercial rents forced it to close. Claire had spent her teenage years dusting first editions and brewing Earl Grey behind her grandmother’s counter. Her dream had always been to buy back the old lease, restore the original brass lamps, and build a sanctuary where people read, talked, and treated one another with quiet grace.
Now, she couldn't even cover the deposit on her flat.
Her phone began vibrating against the table. It was an unknown London landline.
Taking a deep breath to steady her voice, she answered. "Hello?"
"Miss Claire Dawson?" A refined, pleasant female voice spoke on the other end.
"Yes, speaking."
"Good morning, Miss Dawson. My name is Evelyn Moore, executive secretary to Mr. Roman De Luca. I am calling on behalf of Miss Elena De Luca. Are you available for a brief meeting this morning at ten o'clock?"
Claire frowned, sitting up straight. "Elena? Is she alright?"
"Miss Elena is in excellent health. A car has been dispatched to your residential address and is currently waiting outside your building."
Claire pulled aside the faded yellow curtains of her fourth-floor window. Parked right in front of the rundown council estate was a gleaming black Mercedes sedan, a uniformed chauffeur standing quietly by the rear door.
"I... I haven't agreed to a meeting," Claire said cautiously.
"Miss Elena requested this personally," Evelyn added gently. "She stated that she owes you an apology for yesterday's inconvenience, and a proper cup of tea."
May you like
Claire hesitated for three seconds. She looked at her unpaid rent notice, then at the apron folded neatly on the counter.
"Give me ten minutes," Claire said.
