Chapter 1 - THE ONE THING MONEY COULDN’T BUY
Caroline Wells chose the diamonds first.
Of course she did.
Adrian had barely finished explaining the rules before she walked toward a glass display case near the center of the gallery and pointed at a necklace of old European diamonds.
Grant Mercer unlocked the case.
Caroline lifted the necklace against her throat and smiled as if she had already won.
One by one, the others followed.
Vanessa chose a vintage Ferrari from the garage.
Melissa selected a parcel of undeveloped land Adrian owned outside Philadelphia.
Lauren chose a nineteenth-century painting worth several million dollars.
Rebecca asked for a collection of rare watches.
Olivia wanted an antique desk once owned by a railroad magnate.
And Sophia, whose family controlled several construction contracts in New Jersey, chose a sealed gold bar from Adrian’s private vault.
Nobody chose anything small.
Nobody hesitated.
I remained near the wall holding a tray I no longer needed.
Then Adrian looked at me.
“Nora.”
Every woman turned.
My stomach tightened.
“Yes, Mr. Vale?”
“Choose.”
I almost laughed.
“I’m staff.”
“Tonight, you’re included.”
Caroline smiled behind her champagne glass.
“How democratic.”
A few women laughed.
I should have refused.
Instead, I looked at Adrian.
His expression gave me nothing.
“Anything?” I asked.
“Anything.”
So I set down the tray.
Then I walked out of the gallery.
I heard whispering behind me.
“She’s probably going to choose cash.”
“Maybe the kitchen equipment.”
More laughter.
I ignored it.
The service corridor behind the kitchen was empty.
Old plaster.
Exposed pipes.
A narrow table where unused cleaning supplies collected dust.
And beside the back stairwell, hanging crooked on a nail, was the cheap wooden frame I had seen Adrian touch almost every night.
The glass was cracked.
The wood had been painted dark brown once, but years of handling had worn the corners pale.
Inside was an old photograph of a woman holding a little boy.
Adrian.
He couldn’t have been more than five.
The woman had his eyes.
I had never asked who she was.
I simply knew Adrian stood there each night and stared at her for two minutes before returning to the world that feared him.
I lifted the frame carefully.
When I returned to the gallery, the laughter started again.
Caroline covered her mouth.
“That?”
I ignored her and walked directly toward Adrian.
Then I held out the frame.
“I choose this.”
Everything changed.
Grant stopped smiling.
Adrian didn’t move.
Not even his hands.
His eyes went from me to the photograph.
Then back to me.
“Why?”
The room had gone completely silent.
I swallowed.
“Because it’s the only thing in this house I’ve ever seen you look at as if losing it would hurt.”
Nobody laughed now.
Adrian stared at me for what felt like a full minute.
Then he took the frame.
Not from me.
He pressed it back into my hands.
“No.”
My face heated.
“I thought you said anything.”
“I did.”
“Then why can’t I have it?”
His voice lowered.
“You can.”
I frowned.
“Then what do you mean?”
He looked at the seven women.
“The test is over.”
Caroline’s face changed.
“What?”
Adrian never looked away from me.
Then he said:
May you like
“She’s the only one who understood the question.”
And that was when Grant Mercer’s champagne glass slipped from his hand and shattered across the marble floor.
