Chapter 3 - THE WARNING
I stared at the message.
The ballroom noise disappeared.
The music.
The conversations.
The whispers.
Everything faded.
Someone knew.
Someone knew I had spoken.
Someone knew I was afraid.
"Fay?"
Griffin's voice pulled me back.
I quickly locked my phone.
"Are you okay?"
I forced myself to nod.
"Yes."
It was a terrible lie.
Griffin noticed.
People like him didn't become billionaires by ignoring details.
"You just saw something."
I looked at him.
For a second, I considered telling him.
Then I looked across the room.
At Celeste.
At Marcus.
At all the powerful people surrounding me.
I had already stepped into a world I didn't understand.
I didn't know who I could trust.
"I received a message."
Griffin's expression changed.
"What message?"
Before I could answer, Marcus interrupted.
"Griffin, perhaps this has gone far enough."
That made me angry.
Far enough?
A woman was talking about accidents.
A glass of champagne was suspicious.
And he wanted it to stop?
I turned toward him.
"Why are you so desperate to protect her?"
The room went silent.
Marcus looked at me.
Cold.
"You should be careful with accusations."
"And you should be careful with secrets."
For the first time, his calm expression cracked.
Just slightly.
But enough.
Griffin noticed.
He looked at Marcus.
"What aren't you telling me?"
Marcus sighed.
"I was trying to protect you."
"From what?"
Marcus looked at Celeste.
Then back at Griffin.
"From someone who has been lying to you."
The words shocked everyone.
Including Celeste.
"What are you talking about?"
Marcus reached into his jacket.
Several security guards immediately reacted.
But Marcus slowly pulled out a folder.
"I found these two weeks ago."
He handed them to Griffin.
Inside were documents.
Bank transfers.
Private accounts.
Photographs.
Griffin's face changed as he looked through them.
"What is this?"
Marcus lowered his voice.
"Your fiancée has been moving money from one of your private accounts."
Celeste stepped forward.
"That's a lie."
Griffin looked at her.
"Is it?"
The confidence disappeared from her face.
Only for a moment.
But it was enough.
Then something unexpected happened.
Celeste smiled.
Not fear.
Not panic.
A smile of someone who still believed she had control.
"Marcus."
She said his name softly.
Almost like a warning.
"You really want to do this?"
The room froze.
Because Marcus looked afraid.
Not angry.
Afraid.
And that was when I realized something.
This wasn't just about Griffin.
It was bigger.
Much bigger.
Celeste wasn't working alone.
She had something on Marcus.
Something powerful enough to make him betray his closest friend.
Griffin looked at both of them.
"What is happening?"
Nobody answered.
Then the lights suddenly went out.
The ballroom disappeared into darkness.
People screamed.
Glasses shattered.
Someone pushed through the crowd.
And in the chaos...
I felt a hand grab my arm.
May you like
A voice whispered in my ear.
"You should have stayed invisible."
