CHAPTER 1 — THE WOMAN WHO STOOD HER GROUND
CHAPTER 1 — THE WOMAN WHO STOOD HER GROUND
The ballroom emptied within minutes.
Luxury cars disappeared into the night.
Police officers quietly secured every entrance while security escorted the remaining guests into private lounges.
The waitress stood alone.
She still wore her stained uniform.
She still expected to lose everything.
Instead, the powerful man stepped toward her.
"My name is Adrian Moretti," he said.
"You've probably heard stories about me."
She nodded.
Everyone in Chicago had.
Some called him a billionaire.
Others called him the king no one dared challenge.
"You protected my mother without knowing who she was."
"I would've protected anyone," she answered.
That reply made him pause.
For the first time that night, he smiled.
His mother, Eleanor, reached for the waitress's hand.
"What is your name, dear?"
"Emily Carter."
Eleanor squeezed her fingers gently.
"You remind me of someone I used to be."
Before Emily could answer, Adrian's head of security rushed over.
"The suspect escaped."
"But we recovered something."
He handed Adrian a tiny wireless earpiece.
"It belonged to one of the catering staff."
Emily frowned.
"Wait..."
"There was a man in the kitchen."
"He wasn't cooking."
"He kept asking where Mrs. Moretti would be sitting."
Every eye turned toward Emily.
"You saw him?"
"I thought he was just nervous."
Adrian immediately ordered every security camera in the hotel reviewed.
Three hours later...
The footage revealed the truth.
The woman who tried to slap Eleanor had never acted alone.
While everyone watched the confrontation...
Another man had slipped behind Eleanor's wheelchair.
Inside his jacket...
A syringe.
If Emily hadn't stopped the slap...
No one would have noticed him.
The distraction failed.
The assassin walked away empty-handed.
But he was still alive.
May you like
And now...
He knew Emily had ruined the plan.
