Chapter 2 - The Feast of Fools
I carried Emma into the house,
ignoring the gasps of the guests as we entered the grand ballroom.
She tried to hide her face,
embarrassed by her tattered clothes,
but I held her higher,
forcing every socialite and sycophant to look at her.
I reached the head of the long mahogany table,
where my mother,
Margaret,
sat like a queen.
She was wearing a tiara I had bought for Emma’s birthday three years ago.
The room went silent,
the music dying a slow death as the realization of my presence spread.
My brother,
Michael,
choked on his wine,
his face turning a mottled purple.
"Leo!"
Margaret exclaimed,
her voice high and forced.
"What a surprise!"
"Why are you carrying the help?"
"Put her down and let us welcome you properly."
I didn't put her down.
I kicked a chair out and sat Emma in it,
right next to my mother’s seat.
"This 'help',"
I said,
the silence in the room so heavy it felt like it would shatter the crystal chandeliers,
"is the mistress of this house."
"And every single person sitting at this table,"
"drinking my wine,"
"eating my food,"
"and wearing my jewelry,"
"is here at her mercy."
I looked at the diamond necklace around my mother's neck.
"That belongs to Emma,"
I said.
Margaret reached for her throat,
her eyes darting around the room for an escape.
"Leo,
dear,"
"she couldn't be trusted with such things,"
"she’s so...
fragile."
I leaned in,
my shadow falling over her.
"Fragile?"
"She has been scrubbing floors while you played queen."
"She has been enduring your insults while you spent my blood money."
I turned to the guests,
the "friends" who had watched this happen.
"Out,"
I said.
It wasn't a shout.
It was an order.
"Everyone who is not blood,"
"or married to it,"
"leave now."
"If you are still on my property in sixty seconds,"
"my security team will ensure you never walk on it again."
The room erupted into a panicked scramble.
Chairs were overturned,
dresses were caught in doors,
and within a minute,
only my family remained.
My mother,
my sister,
my brother.
And my wife,
who was finally beginning to realize that the nightmare was ending.
I pulled the velvet box from my pocket.
I opened it,
the rare diamond necklace catching the light.
"I bought this for a queen,"
I said,
looking at Emma.
May you like
"But first,"
"I have to clean the trash out of my palace."
