Chương 5
Enzo looked at her.
“I am not letting anything happen.”
“You cannot control people.”
“No.”
He looked toward the driveway.
“But I can control myself.”
Camilla stared at him.
That answer seemed to confuse her.
She had expected anger.
She had expected accusations.
She had expected him to list every mistake she had made.
Instead, he was leaving.
That was something she could not fight.
People knew how to fight anger.
They knew how to fight accusations.
They did not know how to fight someone who simply stopped participating.
Adeline picked up her small handbag from the table near the entrance.
It had been placed there earlier when she was carrying trays.
The strap was slightly damaged.
She ran her fingers over the torn edge.
A tiny imperfection.
Almost nothing.
But it reminded her that the evening had happened.
That she had not imagined it.
That someone had finally looked at what everyone else avoided.
“I should find the staff exit,” she said.
Enzo nodded.
“You do not have to.”
“I know.”
They moved through the quiet mansion together.
The path was different from the one she had taken earlier.
Earlier, she had walked with her head down.
Counting steps.
Avoiding attention.
Now she walked beside someone who could have made the entire situation about himself but had not.
Neither of them spoke for several moments.
The silence was not uncomfortable.
It was simply two people who had experienced something they did not yet know how to describe.
Near the service hallway, Adeline stopped.
“Mr. Marchetti.”
He turned.
“Enzo.”
She corrected herself quietly.
He nodded.
“Enzo.”
She looked down at the floor.
“I do not know why you helped me.”
He waited.
She continued.
“I mean, I understand what happened was wrong.”
Her fingers tightened around her bag.
“But people like you usually have reasons.”
He leaned against the doorway.
The question was fair.
More fair than he deserved.
“Maybe I did.”
Adeline looked up.
He continued.
“Maybe part of me was angry at myself.”
“For what?”
“For seeing things before tonight and pretending they were smaller than they were.”
The answer stayed between them.
Adeline did not know what to do with it.
She had expected him to say something easier.
Something that made him the good person and her the person who needed saving.
Instead, he admitted failure.
“I hope you get home safely,” he said.
She nodded.
Then she walked toward the service exit.
After three steps, she stopped.
“Enzo.”
He looked back.
“Thank you for seeing me.”
The words affected him more than she knew.
Because they were not about the coat.
They were not about the engagement.
They were about something much older.
Something both of them carried.
Adeline left through the door.
Enzo remained in the hallway for a moment.
Then his phone vibrated.
Michael’s name appeared on the screen.
He answered.
“What did you find?”
There was a pause.
A long one.
Then Michael said, “The person with the video is not a guest.”
Enzo straightened.
“Who is it?”
Another pause followed.
“The head of Camilla’s security team.”
Enzo looked back toward the ballroom.
And for the first time that night, he wondered whether the scene he witnessed had been a loss of control.
Or something Camilla had been trying to keep hidden.
The question stayed with Enzo long after the phone call ended.
Not because he believed Camilla had planned every detail of the evening.
That would have been easier.
A deliberate act had a clear shape.
A person to blame.
A reason to be angry.
What bothered him was the possibility that the truth was messier.
That Camilla had allowed something terrible to happen because she believed she was entitled to do it.
Or worse.
That she had done it before.
He walked back toward the ballroom with his phone still in his hand.
The celebration had almost completely dissolved.
Only a few guests remained, gathering their coats and speaking in quiet voices near the entrance.
The musicians had stopped playing.
The candles on the tables continued burning over half-finished meals and abandoned glasses.
The room looked like a place where people had left in the middle of a sentence.
Camilla stood near the windows overlooking the gardens.
She was no longer angry.
That concerned him more.
Anger was familiar.
Anger was predictable.
This was calculation.
“You knew about the recording,” Enzo said.
She did not turn around immediately.
“You believe everything Michael tells you now?”
“I asked you a question.”
She looked outside.
The reflection of her face appeared faintly in the glass.
“You always liked him.”
“Camilla.”
She sighed.
“Yes.”
The admission was almost too easy.
Enzo stopped.
“You knew?”
“I knew there were cameras around.”
“That is not what I asked.”
She turned.
“I knew someone might have seen something.”
“Who?”
She looked away.
“Does it matter?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because someone on your security team has footage of you humiliating a member of my staff.”
Her expression changed.
A small flicker of irritation.
“My staff?”
The words were quiet.
But they revealed more than she intended.
Enzo noticed.
“She works here.”
“She works for your household.”
“She is a person.”
Camilla looked at him.
“That is what this is about?”
He stared at her.
“What do you mean?”
“You are acting like this is some moral awakening.”
Her voice became sharper.
“You saw one moment and decided you know everything.”
“I saw enough.”
“No.”
She shook her head.
“You saw what she wanted you to see.”
Enzo felt something tighten in his chest.
“Explain.”
Camilla hesitated.
That hesitation mattered.
“You think she is innocent because she looked afraid.”
“That is not what I said.”
“It is what you believe.”
She walked closer.
“Do you know anything about her?”
“No.”
“Then how can you judge me?”
The question was unfair.
But not completely.
That was the part Enzo hated.
He did not know Adeline.
He knew one moment.
One terrible moment.
May you like
He knew the fear in her face.
He knew the silence of the people around her.
