Chapter 11: The Gala Committee Called Before Checkout
Bianca didn't come to breakfast. At eight thirty, a white SUV pulled up to the east wing door that wasn't the main entrance, the one caterers used, with tinted windows and a driver who didn't get out. I watched from the apartment window with Sofia, who was supposed to be practicing sight words but was watching too.
Mrs. Keller came over with her phone on speaker, just loud enough for me to hear. It was a woman from the museum benefit committee, the tone bright and practiced.
"We've heard there may be a change in plans for the twenty-third," the woman said. "We just want to confirm the seating card and the dress fitting. Bianca had confirmed the Valentino."
Alessandro picked up on his line from the office. His voice was flat and calm. "The wedding is canceled," he said. "That is a mutual decision, private, and not a reflection on the foundation. Please remove both names from the co-chair listing and list the foundation only."
There was a pause. Paper rustling.
"Of course," the committee woman said. "We understand. These things happen. We'll adjust the program. No announcement needed?"
"No announcement," Alessandro said. "If asked, it's mutual and amicable. No further comment."
He hung up. Bianca must have been on her own phone at the same time, because a few minutes later Mrs. Keller's phone buzzed with a text she showed me: Bianca asking if she could make a joint statement about calling it off for scheduling reasons. Priya had already drafted it - two sentences, no fault, no detail.
At nine ten, Bianca came out of the east wing with two large suitcases and a garment bag. She wore the same kind of elegant coat she had worn in the photos Mrs. Keller showed me, but her hair was pulled back and she had no makeup. She didn't look toward the main house's French doors. Alessandro and Priya met her at the SUV. I couldn't hear the words, but I saw Priya hand her an envelope and Bianca sign a paper on the hood of the car. The driver loaded the bags. No hug, no handshake.
Sofia tugged my sleeve. "Is she leaving for good?"
"She's going back to her apartment in the city," I said, which was what Mrs. Keller had told me Priya arranged.
Bianca looked once toward the garage apartment before she got in. I don't think she could see us through the blinds, but I stepped back anyway. The SUV pulled away down the county road that led to the highway, past the gate, past the line of oaks.
Later that afternoon, Alessandro came to the apartment door with a printed email from the committee. It thanked him for clarifying and confirmed the updated seating chart. No mention of me, no mention of Sofia, no mention of a jug or a glove or a yellow incident sheet.
"That is how it will be recorded publicly," he said. "Mutual cancellation. The incident report stays private unless you need it. Her reputation is managed, your record is clean."
I folded the email and put it in the folder with the reference letter and the case number.
"That's fine with me," I said. "I don't want a scandal. I just want her gone."
May you like
He nodded. "She is."
After he left, Mrs. Keller brought over a box from the manager's office. Inside, the crystal jug and the yellow glove were each bagged and tagged, but she said they were now in Priya's locked file, not on the counter. She asked if I wanted to see them one last time. I said no.
