Chapter 3 - THE WOMAN IN THE SILVER DRESS
Saturday evening arrived with freezing rain.
I stood before the bedroom mirror wearing a midnight-blue gown I'd bought three years earlier.
Derek had once told me it made my eyes look brighter.
I wondered whether he would even notice it now.
Grace appeared in the doorway.
She wore a pale-blue dress, white shoes, and a small silver barrette shaped like a butterfly.
"Mom?"
I turned.
She looked beautiful.
"Come here."
I straightened her collar.
"Remember what we talked about?"
She nodded.
"No investigating."
"And?"
"If something happens, I find you or Aunt Claudia."
"Exactly."
She looked at my purse.
"Do you have the letter?"
I nodded.
Evelyn had prepared a formal notice of my intention to file for divorce, together with a separate request that Derek preserve relevant financial records.
I wasn't planning a public confrontation.
I wanted to deliver the notice privately after the gala.
At least, that was the plan.
The ballroom at the Grand Harrington Hotel glittered beneath enormous crystal chandeliers.
White roses covered the tables.
A string quartet played near the entrance.
Large screens displayed photographs of scholarship recipients alongside the words:
EVERY CHILD DESERVES A CHANCE.
My throat tightened.
Those had been my mother's words.
She'd written them in the margin of a lesson plan when I was twelve.
Now they were projected above a ballroom filled with people who believed Derek had created something extraordinary.
Claudia met us near the entrance.
She hugged Grace first.
Then leaned toward me.
"Are you ready?"
"No."
She squeezed my hand.
"Good answer."
We took our seats near the front.
Derek was supposed to arrive separately after a meeting with donors.
At seven fifteen, the doors opened.
I looked up.
And saw my husband.
With Sienna Price on his arm.
She wore a silver gown with a plunging neckline and diamonds at her throat.
Derek's hand rested possessively against her back.
They weren't behaving like colleagues.
They were behaving like a couple.
Several guests turned.
Someone whispered.
A woman at the next table stared at me, then quickly looked away.
Derek spotted us.
For one brief moment, his expression changed.
Then he smiled.
As though nothing unusual had happened.
Grace squeezed my hand.
"Mom, don't cry."
I swallowed.
She looked up.
"Just look at me."
I did.
Her eyes were frightened, but she was trying to be brave.
Too brave.
"Mom, don't cry. Let me go ask him who that woman is."
I shook my head gently.
"You don't have to, sweetheart."
But before I could say anything else, Derek began walking toward our table.
Sienna remained beside him.
And I knew there was no avoiding the moment.
"Claire," Derek said.
That was my name.
Claire Halston.
A name he hadn't spoken with affection in years.
"You look lovely."
I stared at him.
"Thank you."
He gestured toward Sienna.
"You've met Sienna."
"Not formally."
Sienna extended her hand.
"Claire. It's wonderful to finally meet you."
I looked at her hand.
Then at Derek.
"Finally?"
Her smile faltered.
Derek cleared his throat.
"Sienna's been instrumental in the foundation's expansion."
"Has she?"
He frowned.
"Claire."
I opened my purse.
My fingers closed around Evelyn's letter.
Before I could remove it, Grace stood.
She walked around the table.
Stopped directly in front of Derek.
And looked up at him.
"Dad?"
He smiled.
"Hey, princess."
Grace's voice was small.
"Why are you holding her hand?"
The nearby conversations faded.
Derek looked down.
Then quickly released Sienna.
"Grace, sweetheart—"
"Is she your girlfriend?"
Silence.
Sienna's face turned red.
Derek glanced around.
"Not here."
Grace's chin trembled.
"But you're married to Mom."
I stood immediately.
"Grace, come here, baby."
She turned toward me.
Her eyes filled.
Then she looked back at her father.
"You told me lying was wrong."
Derek went pale.
I reached her and placed an arm around her shoulders.
"That's enough, sweetheart. Come with me."
But Derek made the mistake that changed everything.
He looked at our daughter and said:
"Grace, you don't understand grown-up relationships."
She stared at him.
Then whispered:
"I understand when someone tells the truth."
She took her phone from her little purse.
Derek's expression changed.
"What are you doing?"
Grace looked at me.
May you like
"Mom, I need to show you something."
And on her screen was a video I had never seen before.
