Chapter 1 - The Lobbies of Wrath
"People like you don't belong in my hotel!" Eleanor Vance shrieked, her manicured fingers digging viciously into Clara’s bare arm with a force that sent a sharp spasm of pain shooting up the young woman's shoulder.
"Let go of me right now, you have no right to touch me!" Clara gasped, stumbling backward on the polished marble floor of the grand lobby as the harsh glare of the crystal chandeliers caught the tears welling in her dark eyes.
"Security, throw this filthy vagrant out onto the street before she contaminates the entire floor," Eleanor snapped, her white silk dress rustling as she stood tall and triumphant above the fallen girl.
"I am not a vagrant, I have every right to be standing right here in this lobby," Clara fired back, her breathing ragged as she struggled to maintain her footing against the cold stone.
"Look at your clothes, look at your cheap jeans, you couldn't afford a cup of coffee in this establishment let alone a room," the male hotel manager in the navy suit interjected coldly, stepping forward with a menacing stride.
"My identity and my business here are none of your arrogant concern," Clara retorted, her voice trembling slightly with restrained fury.
Before the manager could grab her collar, Clara slipped, and the silver locket necklace around her neck caught on her gray tank top, snapping loose and hitting the ground with a sharp metallic clatter. The antique silver casing popped wide open upon impact, scattering a shower of dust and revealing a pristine, sepia-toned portrait photograph tucked securely inside. The older female manager in the black blazer, Martha, froze dead in her tracks, her eyes darting down to the exposed face inside the locket. Martha dropped to her knees, her face turning completely pale as she picked up the silver heirloom with trembling fingers. She stared at the photograph, her mouth opening and closing without sound as the color completely drained from her weathered cheeks.
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"Where did you get this?" Martha whispered, her voice cracking with sheer disbelief.
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