Chapter 6 - The Betrayal Inside the House
Dominic gathered the household staff the next morning.
Mara hated it.
“These people didn’t do anything.”
“One person may have.”
“Then don’t treat everyone like suspects.”
Dominic looked at her.
She was right.
He dismissed the meeting.
Instead, his security director quietly audited access records.
Only four people had access to Mara’s wardrobe records.
Her personal stylist.
The boutique manager.
Dominic’s assistant.
And Mara herself.
But the measurements Bianca possessed were not current.
They came from a fitting performed eighteen months earlier.
Before the boutique had changed its computer system.
The old files had been archived.
Only one person had requested them.
Celeste.
Dominic stared at the report.
Mara sat opposite him.
“She already admitted helping Bianca.”
“This is different.”
“Maybe not.”
The records showed Celeste had accessed Mara’s measurements six months earlier.
The exact week the comments began.
Dominic called his sister.
She arrived an hour later.
When confronted, Celeste did not deny it.
“I gave Bianca the measurements.”
Mara closed her eyes.
“Why?”
“She told me she wanted to order you a surprise dress.”
Dominic stared.
“You believed that?”
“At first.”
“And afterward?”
Celeste began crying.
“I knew.”
Mara’s expression hardened.
“You knew what?”
“That she was sending smaller clothes.”
Silence.
“I thought it was harmless.”
Mara stood.
“Harmless?”
“I was wrong.”
“You watched me stop eating dessert.”
Celeste looked down.
“You watched me leave dinners early.”
“I know.”
“You watched me return clothes.”
“I know.”
“And every time you could have stopped.”
Celeste whispered, “Yes.”
Mara’s anger finally surfaced.
Not screaming.
Not insults.
Something stronger.
Clarity.
“You didn’t make me hate my body.”
Celeste looked up.
“But you helped someone teach me how.”
Celeste cried silently.
Mara walked away.
Dominic followed her into the garden.
“I’m sorry.”
“Why are you apologizing?”
“She’s my sister.”
“That doesn’t make her choices yours.”
Dominic smiled sadly.
“You spent six months believing the opposite.”
Mara stopped.
He was right.
She had believed Celeste’s actions somehow reflected Dominic.
Now Dominic was making the same mistake.
Mara took his hand.
“We’re both learning.”
That evening, Celeste sent Mara a message.
Not asking forgiveness.
Not defending herself.
Just four words.
I will make amends.
Mara did not reply.
Two weeks passed.
Life slowly became normal.
Then an invitation arrived.
The Serrano Foundation’s annual winter benefit.
Mara was scheduled to deliver the opening speech.
Six months earlier she would have refused.
Now she accepted.
Three days before the event, however, a package appeared at the house.
Inside was a dress.
Size two.
Far smaller than Mara wore.
There was no card.
Dominic stared at it.
Mara did too.
Then she laughed.
Dominic blinked.
“What?”
“They’re getting predictable.”
But security footage showed something unexpected.
The package had not been delivered by Bianca.
Nor Celeste.
Nor anyone connected to them.
It had been placed outside the house by a woman Mara recognized immediately.
May you like
Her own mother.
---
