Chapter 3 - The echo of a lie
For a long, agonizing moment, the only sound in the bathroom was the hiss of the steam. Ethan’s hand slowly pulled back, his knuckles turning white as he gripped the armrest of his wheelchair. The concern in his eyes hardened into something dangerous and defensive.
"What did you just say?" he asked, his voice dangerously low.
Juliet scrambled backward, her back hitting the edge of the marble sink. She realized her mistake the moment the words left her mouth. She needed this job. If she was fired tonight, Brandon would not survive the week.
"N-nothing," she stammered, frantically averting her eyes. "I'm sorry, Mr. Bennett. I was mistaken. The heat... I just felt dizzy."
Ethan didn't believe a word of it. He wheeled himself closer, towering over her sitting form. "You don't get to say something like that and take it back, Juliet. Who do you think you saw with this necklace?"
"No one," she lied, her gentle face twisted in desperation. "Please, I need this job. I have a sick son. Please forget I said anything."
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Ethan stared down at her for a long time. The shadows half-covered his face, making him look like a carved statue. Finally, he turned his wheelchair away. "Get out. Go home to your sick son. If you want to keep this job, you'll be back at six in the morning, and you'll never mention this necklace again."
Juliet fled the room, her heart pounding. She knew she had survived the night, but as she stepped out into the freezing city air to head back to her crumbling apartment, she knew she had just walked into a dangerous web. The man in the wheelchair was wearing the very necklace her father had been wearing the night he vanished.
