The wind off Lake Michigan battered the high glass windows of the Sterling mansion, but inside, the ballroom was warm and loud.

Hundreds of Chicago’s elite stood beneath the crystal chandeliers, holding glasses of champagne.

For six months, I had swept the marble floors beneath their feet.

Tonight, I walked across them in heels.

The emerald silk of my gown brushed against my ankles as I stepped into the light of the entryway.

A few conversations faltered.

Then, a heavy silence fell over the room, rippling outward from the grand staircase.

I kept my chin high, my posture straight, just as my grandfather Elias had taught me.

“Is that… Valerie?” a woman in the front row whispered, her glass tilting.

I did not look at her.

My eyes were fixed on the raised dais at the far end of the room.

Miranda Sterling stood there, wearing a diamond tiara that caught the light.

Her glass of vintage champagne froze halfway to her lips.

Beside her, Julian Sterling frowned, his sharp eyes narrowing as he looked at me.

He was a man who noticed every detail, and right now, he was analyzing me like a complex business acquisition.

I took slow, deliberate steps down the stairs.

The fabric of my dress whispered against the polished stone.

“What is the meaning of this?” Miranda’s voice cut through the quiet, though she kept her tone low to avoid a scene.

She stepped down from the dais, her silver gown glittering, and marched toward me.

Julian followed a pace behind her, his gaze dropping to my neck.

“Valerie,” Julian said, his voice surprisingly calm. “You look different without your apron.”

“I decided to dress for the occasion, Julian,” I said.

Miranda stopped two feet from me, her face pale beneath her heavy makeup.

“You are fired,” Miranda hissed, her knuckles turning white as she clenched her hands. “Get out of my house before I have security throw you into the lake.”

“It is a beautiful party, Miranda,” I said, my voice carrying just enough for the nearest guests to hear. “It would be a shame to ruin it with a scene.”