Chapter 8 - THE MAN WHO TAUGHT THE STAFF TO STAY SILENT
Gideon Puit had one rule.
Never argue with wealthy guests.
Now Billy understood why.
A staff member who remained silent couldn't easily challenge a suspicious delivery.
Couldn't question an altered payroll record.
Couldn't ask why foundation merchandise moved through a hotel loading dock after midnight.
And couldn't demand answers when a famous woman poured wine over her.
Billy met investigators with her attorney and provided the records she'd collected.
Gideon agreed to an interview after obtaining legal representation.
At first, he denied everything.
He claimed the warehouse arrangements were ordinary subcontracting agreements.
He said Anna Ror was a talented but difficult designer.
He insisted he had nothing to do with her death.
Then investigators presented the photograph of Gideon meeting Anna three days before the crash.
His face changed.
"She was asking questions."
"What questions?" the investigator asked.
Gideon looked toward the table.
"About the foundation's shipments."
"And what did you tell her?"
He hesitated.
"That she should speak to Sabine."
Billy watched the recorded interview with permission from her attorney.
For four years, she'd pictured the people responsible as monsters who never felt regret.
Now Gideon looked exhausted.
Frightened.
Almost relieved to be questioned.
Then he admitted something important.
He had used the hotel's loading dock to process merchandise for foundation-affiliated companies.
Some shipments weren't documented accurately.
Others contained finished garments labeled as discarded textile samples.
He knew the records were misleading.
But he claimed Dominic Santangelo controlled the arrangement.
"Why didn't you report it?" the investigator asked.
Gideon stared at his hands.
"Because he said he'd destroy my family."
The room went silent.
Then Gideon said something unexpected.
"Anna came to me because she thought I could help."
Billy leaned forward.
The investigator asked:
"Did you?"
Gideon's eyes filled.
"No."
He swallowed.
"I told her to stop."
Billy closed her eyes.
Another adult had seen what was happening.
Another person chose silence.
Then Gideon explained that Anna had given him a small notebook containing shipment references.
He'd hidden it because he feared Dominic would search his office.
Years later, after watching Sabine humiliate Billy, he decided the records couldn't remain hidden.
The notebook was recovered and preserved.
Inside were dates, receipts, and copies of messages.
But the final page contained something entirely different.
A sketch of Sabine's famous gown.
Beneath it, Anna had written:
The pattern isn't the secret.
The lining is.
Billy stopped breathing.
May you like
Because the original gown her family made had a hidden pocket sewn beneath the left seam.
And Anna had placed something inside it the night before she died.
