Chapter 3 - THE LEDGER
Vanessa moved faster than Elena had ever seen her move.
She snatched the notebook off the ground.
“Private notes,” she said.
Damian held out his hand. “Give it to me.”
“No.”
The terrace went silent.
Damian blinked once. “No?”
Vanessa tucked the ledger against her chest. “It’s wedding planning. Vendor numbers. Personal things.”
“Then you won’t mind me looking.”
“I said no.”
Elena started to leave with Mia, but Damian stopped her. “Stay. Your name is in that notebook.”
For half a second, fear flashed across Vanessa’s face.
Then it was gone.
“You saw one word upside down and decided it’s a conspiracy?”
Elena kept her voice level. “I saw ‘remove.’”
Vanessa smiled. “Exactly. Remove from the wedding staff list. I was going to give you the night off.”
“That’s generous,” Elena said. “You’ve never given me a night off.”
Damian almost smiled, but his eyes stayed hard.
Vanessa turned on him. “This is insane. You cancel our dinner because a child got her feelings hurt, and now your employee is accusing me of what? Fraud?”
Nobody had said fraud.
Damian’s face changed.
“You just did.”
Vanessa realized her mistake.
She recovered quickly. “Because that’s where this melodrama is going.”
Damian stepped closer. “Give me the notebook.”
“No.”
He reached for it.
Vanessa jerked back—and the ledger tore at the binding.
Several pages spilled onto the floor.
Elena saw account numbers. Company names. A signature that looked like Damian’s but not quite. One page listed an entity called Northstar Consulting LLC. Another showed transfers totaling $4.8 million.
Damian picked up the nearest sheet.
His eyes moved once across the page.
Then again.
“This is my family office account.”
Vanessa said nothing.
“This transfer was authorized three months ago.” He looked up. “I didn’t authorize it.”
For the first time, the glamorous woman who had controlled every room she entered looked cornered.
She pointed at Elena.
“She planted that.”
Elena stared at her. “Are you serious?”
“You had access to my room for months. You knew Damian liked your daughter. You saw a chance.”
Mia started crying again. “Mama didn’t do bad.”
Elena’s eyes burned.
Damian stepped between them.
“Do not talk about Elena in front of her child like that.”
Vanessa’s mouth twisted. “There it is.”
“What?”
“The truth.” She looked from Damian to Elena. “This was never about a cake.”
Damian’s voice went dangerously quiet. “You have five seconds to explain.”
Vanessa smiled with sudden, ugly confidence.
“I know about the nights you leave your office early for them. I know about the trust paperwork. I know you changed your will.”
Damian froze.
Elena did too.
Because she had never heard a word about any will.
May you like
Vanessa leaned closer to Damian.
“And if you touch me, the whole world finds out what you were planning to give the housekeeper’s daughter.”
