Chapter 3 - [THE SECRET IN THE SUITE]
The ballroom cleared out in less than twenty minutes.
The engagement party of the year had turned into the scandal of the decade.
I was in the kitchen, helping the catering staff pack away untouched trays of caviar, when Nico walked in.
He had taken off his tuxedo jacket.
His tie was loose.
He looked exhausted, but his dark eyes were sharp as shattered glass.
"Harper," he said.
I wiped my hands on my apron.
"Yes, Mr. Valenti?"
"I need you to do something for me. And I need it kept entirely off the record."
My stomach tightened.
"Of course."
"Sabrina is packing her things in the master guest suite. My guards are outside the door, but she claimed she needed privacy to change."
Nico stepped closer.
"She’s hiding something in that room. The photographs she mentioned. I need you to go in there under the pretense of helping her pack, and find out what she's holding over my family."
I swallowed hard.
"Sir, if she catches me—"
"I won't let her hurt you," Nico said.
It wasn't a boss giving an order.
It was a man making a promise.
I nodded.
"I'll go."
I walked up the grand staircase, my knees shaking with every step.
When I knocked on the heavy oak door of the guest suite, Sabrina’s sharp voice rang out.
"Go away!"
"Miss Whitmore, Mr. Valenti sent me to assist with your luggage," I called out.
The door yanked open.
Sabrina glared at me, her diamond necklace replaced by a dark turtleneck.
"You," she spat. "You're the reason this is happening."
"I'm just here to pack your shoes, ma'am."
I pushed past her, keeping my eyes lowered.
The suite was a disaster. Designer clothes were thrown everywhere.
But my eyes went straight to the small safe in the corner of the closet.
It was open.
And Sabrina was desperately stuffing a manila envelope into her leather tote bag.
"Don't touch that!" she snapped as I moved toward the closet.
"I was just reaching for your heels, ma'am," I lied smoothly.
Suddenly, Sabrina's phone rang.
She looked at the caller ID, and her face went completely white.
She walked into the bathroom, shutting the door tightly behind her.
I didn't hesitate.
I dropped the shoes.
I reached into her leather tote bag and pulled out the manila envelope.
My hands shook as I opened the flap.
Inside were three photographs.
The first was a picture of Gabriel’s mangled bicycle on the side of the road, taken in the pouring rain.
The second was a close-up of a car’s shattered headlight.
But the third photograph made my blood freeze.
It was a picture of the driver who had hit Gabriel and driven away.
And it wasn't Sabrina.
It was a man I recognized.
A man who was sitting downstairs in Nico’s study right now.
Nico and Gabriel’s uncle, Marcus Valenti.
Before I could put the photos back, the bathroom door swung open.
Sabrina stood there, her phone still in her hand.
And she wasn't alone.
A massive, scarred man in a dark suit had just climbed through the suite's balcony window.
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"Well, well," Sabrina smiled coldly. "Looks like the little maid saw too much."
TITLE: THE BALCONY DROP
