Chapter 11 - The Waitress and the Empire
News of Della's connection to Royce Calloway had, despite his threats, begun to leak — not through the press, but through whispers among the city's elite. At a charity gala Royce was obligated to attend, the questions came disguised as pleasantries.
"Is it true, Mr. Calloway?" asked a socialite, champagne in hand, eyes glittering with curiosity. "That you're building a nursery in the east wing of your estate?"
Royce's expression didn't shift. "I don't discuss my household with strangers."
Across the room, a young journalist named Priya Okafor watched the exchange with sharp interest. She'd been chasing the Calloway story since the Vance scandal broke, but something about it didn't sit right with her — the timeline was too clean, the collapse of Vance Logistics too immediate. She'd covered corporate takedowns before; they usually took months of quiet groundwork, not three hours.
May you like
She made a note in her phone: Calloway had the Vance files ready before the incident. Question: why?
It was a small thread, barely visible — but small threads, pulled long enough, tended to unravel entire coats.
