Chương 7
“No.”
“Marissa?”
“Possibly.”
“Mr. Mercer?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Because being wrong is not always grounds for litigation.”
“You said the boutique failed to protect me.”
“It did.”
“But Thomas is your friend.”
Gabriel set down his fork.
“This is not simple.”
“It seems simple when it’s Julian.”
“Julian addressed you directly.”
“Thomas made the rules.”
“He made a marketing decision. A bad one. Julian made a personal decision.”
“Because of the marketing decision.”
Gabriel looked tired rather than angry. That made Elodie want to push harder.
“You only punish people who can’t punish you back.”
His chair moved softly against the floor as he stood.
Dinner ended.
The next morning, Mercer House announced Thomas Mercer had taken a voluntary leave of absence. Julian’s suspension remained in effect. The exhibition stayed closed.
The statement praised the Vale family, condemned disrespectful treatment of minors, and promised revised access training.
Public opinion shifted again.
Some people said justice was happening.
Others asked why a sales assistant might lose his job while the wealthy manager took a paid vacation.
A labor reporter found three former Mercer House employees who described pressure to rank customers by appearance, social influence, purchase history, and “relationship value.” One said employees were instructed to offer champagne to clients wearing identifiable luxury brands and bottled water to everyone else.
The boutique denied any appearance-based policy.
A screenshot surfaced from an internal group chat:
DANE CONTENT DAY. Make her feel like the only person in the room.
Julian had reacted to the message with a thumbs-up.
Elodie stared at the screenshot until the words lost shape.
Make her feel like the only person in the room.
That was what they had done.
The problem was that everyone else remained in it.
On Wednesday, Noelle Graves requested a private meeting.
Her lawyer contacted Leah, who contacted Gabriel, who said no.
Elodie overheard the call from the kitchen.
“Why?” she asked after Leah hung up.
“Because Ms. Graves is attempting to limit her own exposure.”
“To what?”
Leah glanced toward Gabriel’s study.
“She recorded more than she admitted.”
Elodie waited.
Leah sighed. “There may also be an issue involving one of the display pieces.”
The hand leaving the necklace stand.
Elodie remembered it.
“What issue?”
“A detachable diamond charm was missing from a bracelet after the preview.”
“Did she take it?”
“We do not know.”
“Is it on camera?”
“The angle is blocked by Marissa.”
“Does she have it?”
“She says it became caught in the cuff of her jacket.”
Elodie stared.
“Where is it now?”
“With her attorney.”
“Why didn’t she return it?”
“She claims she discovered it after leaving and panicked.”
“That is stealing.”
“It may be. It may also be accidental possession followed by a series of very poor decisions.”
“Is that different?”
“Legally and morally, yes.”
Gabriel appeared in the doorway.
“Elodie, upstairs.”
She did not move.
“Did Noelle film everything?”
“We don’t know.”
“Then meet her.”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because her attorney wants a guarantee that Mercer House will not refer the missing charm to law enforcement.”
“Can you guarantee that?”
“No.”
“Can Thomas?”
“No.”
“Can I?”
Gabriel’s face tightened. “This is not your responsibility.”
“It happened because they were laughing at me.”
“It happened because an adult put her hand where it did not belong.”
“What did she record?”
“Elodie.”
“What did she record?”
He looked at Leah.
Leah answered.
“Marissa speaking to Julian before you approached the cabinet.”
“What did she say?”
“We do not have the recording.”
“What does Noelle say she said?”
Leah hesitated.
“That she did not want a child visible in the background of her promotional footage.”
The room seemed to narrow.
Elodie remembered Marissa stepping close. The contempt had felt spontaneous, almost casual.
It had not been.
She had wanted the frame cleared.
“Meet her,” Elodie said.
Gabriel shook his head.
“Then I will.”
“You will not.”
“She has proof.”
“She claims to have proof.”
“You don’t want proof?”
“I do not trade legal immunity for a selectively edited recording obtained by someone who lied and removed property from a secured display.”
“You trade things all the time.”
“Not you.”
“I’m not what she wants.”
“You are exactly what she wants. Access to you, forgiveness from you, a photograph with you, a sentence she can release through her attorney. You are not entering that negotiation.”
Elodie looked at him.
“You keep saying I have power, then you won’t let me use any.”
“I am saying other people want to use you.”
“You do too.”
His expression closed.
This time, when he sent her upstairs, she went.
At four fifteen, Elodie used Maya’s phone to call Kira Bell.
Getting the number required less skill than it should have. One classmate’s older sister worked for a beauty company that had hired Kira the previous year. The sister gave Maya an assistant’s email. The assistant, perhaps believing a crisis could become an opportunity, replied within six minutes.
Kira answered on the second ring.
“Hello?”
“This is Elodie Vale.”
Silence.
Then, “Oh.”
Maya sat beside Elodie on the floor of the school music-practice room, eyes wide.
Elodie said, “You wrote that you contacted my family.”
“My representative did.”
“You didn’t apologize to me.”
“I’m sorry.”
“You’re saying it because I called.”
“Yes.”
The honesty surprised both of them.
Kira breathed out.
“I’ve tried to write something real about twelve times. Everything sounds like something a publicist would write.”
“Did your publicist write the first post?”
“No. She edited it.”
“That means yes.”
“Mostly.”
A chair creaked on Kira’s end of the call.
Elodie pressed the phone more tightly to her ear.
“Why did you laugh?”
“Because Marissa did.”
“That’s not a reason.”
“It felt like one at the time.”
“Are you scared of her?”
Kira gave a short laugh without humor. “Not exactly.”
May you like
“Then why?”
“She gets invited places. She introduces people. She decides who belongs around her, and if you’re around her long enough, you start feeling like being chosen is a kind of job.”
