Eleanor Sterling walked into the gallery in a fitted couture suit, her silver hair pinned into a chignon. She passed the broken display and the guard on the floor without slowing.
She stopped in front of Chloe and slapped her.
The sapphire on Eleanor's hand flashed. A red print appeared across Chloe's cheek.
“My daughter-in-law's name does not belong in your mouth,” Eleanor said. “You confuse price tags with pedigree. That mistake gets expensive.”
She turned to Julian. Her eyes paused on his watch.
“You were given a simple test, Mr. Vance. Somehow, you failed every part of it.”
Julian swallowed. “Test? I don't understand.”
“Of course you don't. You saw a woman in a plain dress and decided her life must be plain too. You never asked about her family.”
Eleanor stepped beside me, care
