Chapter 5 - The Grand Ballroom
The iron gates of the Everett estate in Great Falls swung open automatically as my luxury sedan approached, recognizing the transponder embedded in the vehicle's chassis. Through the falling snow, the sprawling Georgian mansion glowed like a Hollywood set, its massive windows framing crystal chandeliers and glittering Christmas trees. Music drifted faintly across the manicured lawns—classical strings playing a melancholic holiday tune that felt entirely out of place for the storm brewing inside my head.
In the backseat, Maren sat holding Julian close to her chest, her face pale in the dim dashboard lights. "Everett, are you entirely certain about this?" she asked for the fifth time since we left Alexandria. "Your mother's inner circle will be in there. Senators, board members, high-court judges. It's a bloodbath waiting to happen."
"That's exactly why we're doing it in front of witnesses," I said, shifting the car into park beneath the grand portico. "Eleanor cares about one thing above all else: her public image. In that ballroom, she is untouchable only as long as she controls the narrative. Once the truth is out in the open, her armor cracks."
I stepped out into the freezing night air, walking around to open Maren's door and offering her my hand. She took it, stepping out with a quiet grace that instantly reminded me why I had fallen in love with her a decade ago. Beneath her simple winter coat, she wore a dark velvet dress she must have thrown on in a rush, her chin held high.
"Ready?" I asked, looking down at our son, who was sleeping peacefully through the chaos.
"As ready as I'll ever be," she whispered.
The massive oak front doors opened before we even reached the top steps, greeted by the bewildered face of Jarvis, the family butler who had served our household since I was in elementary school.
"Master Everett?" Jarvis stammered, his eyes darting from my face to Maren, and then down to the blue bundle in her arms. "We... we weren't expecting you this evening. Madam Eleanor said you were spending the holidays in New York."
"My mother is full of surprises tonight, Jarvis," I said smoothly, stepping past him into the grand foyer. "And I thought it was high time I returned the favor. Is she in the ballroom?"
"Yes, sir, but—"
I didn't wait for him to finish. With Maren walking step-for-step beside me, I pushed open the double doors leading into the crystal-draped ballroom, where two hundred of Washington's most elite figures were sipping champagne and exchanging polite holiday pleasantries.
May you like
The moment the heavy doors creaked open, the string quartet faltered. Heads turned. Conversations died down to a low, uneasy hum as the crowd recognized the prodigal CEO and his supposed ex-wife walking arm-in-arm into the inner sanctum of high society.
And right at the center of the room, standing beside a ten-foot-tall Fraser fir covered in white ornaments, was my mother.
