The lobby of the Solmere Hotel was built to impress.

Part 2 ⬇️

Charlotte didn't scream.

She didn't beg.

She pressed one hand against the cold marble floor and slowly pushed herself up.

The socialite — a woman named Vivienne Holt — stepped closer and lowered her voice so only Charlotte could hear.

"You made a mistake coming back here.

A very big mistake."

Charlotte looked at her and said nothing.

That silence seemed to make Vivienne angrier than any argument could.

"Security!" Vivienne called out.

"Remove her.

Now."

Two guards moved toward Charlotte from across the lobby.

But before they reached her, a third man stepped forward from near the front desk.

He was older.

Gray suit.

Reading glasses pushed down his nose.

A leather folder pressed against his chest.

He looked at Vivienne and said quietly, "Ma'am.

Before you go any further…

I need to ask you something."

Vivienne turned.

"Who are you?"

"My name is Gerald Foss.

I'm the senior legal counsel for the Solmere Group." He opened the folder.

"And I need to know exactly what authority you believe you have to remove this woman from the building."

Vivienne laughed.

"She's a trespasser."

Gerald looked down at the document in his hands.

Then he looked up at Charlotte.

Something in his expression shifted.

"Miss Vale," he said carefully.

"Is this you?"

The entire lobby went still.

---

DAD LAUGHED at me in front of the entire chapel and told me to walk down...

DAD LAUGHED at me in front of the entire chapel and told me to walk down the aisle by myself because I was marrying a nobody.

My parents threw me out on Christmas morning.

"Your mother isn't sick, Maya.

What Gerald found inside that folder changed everything — and Vivienne had no idea what was coming.

Click the link below to read the full story.

Chapter 2: The Man With the Leather Folder