Chapter 2 - THE BRACELET THAT WAS NEVER STOLEN
The ballroom had gone quiet.
Richard Bennett recovered first.
“I don't see what a hotel employment dispute has to do with my daughter's engagement.”
Dante looked at him.
“Neither did I.”
He paused.
“Until tonight.”
Vanessa tightened her grip on his arm.
“Darling, you're being absurd.”
Dante gently removed her hand.
“Am I?”
Three months earlier, Elena Carter had been dismissed from the Bellamy Grand Hotel after a guest reported a missing diamond bracelet.
The bracelet had been recovered inside a locked service cabinet.
No charges were filed.
But the accusation destroyed Elena's employment prospects.
Dante had learned about the incident when Margaret recommended Elena for the household position.
He'd quietly reviewed the hotel's report.
Something had bothered him.
The guest who reported the bracelet missing had checked into the hotel under an assumed name.
Her reservation was paid through a Bennett family account.
Dante had initially dismissed it as coincidence.
Now he wasn't so sure.
Vanessa looked away.
“Perhaps you should focus on your guests.”
Dante's voice dropped.
“Did you arrange for Elena to lose her job?”
Vanessa's face flushed.
“Of course not.”
Richard stepped forward.
“Enough.”
Dante turned toward him.
“Then answer the question.”
Richard's expression hardened.
“You're embarrassing my daughter.”
Dante glanced toward the service door.
“Your daughter has spent the evening embarrassing someone who cannot afford to defend herself.”
He looked back at Vanessa.
“Did you know Elena before she came to this house?”
Vanessa hesitated.
One second.
Two.
Dante noticed.
Then she smiled.
“Of course not.”
May you like
But Dante had spent his life recognizing lies.
And Vanessa had just told one.
