Chapter 4 - THE SECRET CELeste HID
The emergency lights flickered on.
The ballroom was chaos.
Guests were shouting.
Security was moving everywhere.
And my arm was still trapped.
I turned around.
It wasn't Marcus.
It wasn't Celeste.
It was one of the hotel employees.
A man I had never seen before.
"Let go of me."
He smiled.
"You have no idea what you've stepped into."
I pulled away.
"What does that mean?"
Before he answered, security rushed over.
The man immediately disappeared into the crowd.
Gone.
Like he was never there.
Griffin reached me seconds later.
"Are you hurt?"
I shook my head.
"No."
But my voice wasn't convincing.
Griffin looked around.
Then he lowered his voice.
"This was not a power outage."
I looked at him.
"What?"
He glanced toward the security team.
"The backup system should have activated immediately."
A cold feeling moved through me.
Someone had planned this.
Griffin looked at the champagne report his security team had received.
Then his expression darkened.
"The glass contained a chemical substance."
My heart dropped.
"So I was right."
He didn't answer.
Because we both knew the truth.
I hadn't saved him from embarrassment.
I had saved his life.
Then Griffin asked the question I wasn't expecting.
"Why did you help me?"
I blinked.
"What?"
"You could have walked away."
I looked down.
At my stained apron.
At my cheap shoes.
At the room full of people who thought I didn't belong.
"Because someone had to."
For the first time that night, Griffin looked at me differently.
Not like a stranger.
Like someone he respected.
Then his phone rang.
He answered.
His face changed immediately.
"What do you mean she's gone?"
I looked at him.
"Who?"
Griffin slowly lowered the phone.
"Celeste."
My stomach tightened.
"What about her?"
"She disappeared."
But before we could react, a security officer rushed over.
"Mr. Hales."
His voice was tense.
"We found something in the VIP corridor."
Griffin followed him.
I followed too.
And when we reached the hallway...
I saw the damaged flower arrangement.
The one that brought me there.
Except now...
there was something hidden underneath it.
A small black box.
Inside was a photograph.
May you like
A photograph of Griffin.
Taken from inside his own bedroom.
