Chapter 7 - The Blue Cuff Links.
Adrian canceled the gala before dessert.
Guests were escorted out in groups while security reviewed camera footage.
The blackout had disabled three hallway cameras at exactly the same time.
A fourth camera showed a blurred figure carrying the dome toward the service elevator.
The figure wore a black tuxedo.
So did nearly every man in the room.
Emma noticed one detail.
A bright flash at the wrist.
Blue cuff links.
She pointed at the screen.
Adrian went still.
Marcus had already left the ballroom under the excuse of calling the hotel insurer.
Adrian sent two guards after him.
They found his jacket in a restroom.
The blue cuff links were missing.
Vanessa insisted it proved nothing.
Eleanor signed one response.
A liar always thinks missing evidence is the same as innocence.
Emma translated it.
Vanessa glared at her.
“You enjoy this, don't you?”
“No.”
“I enjoy people being allowed to speak for themselves.”
Vanessa stepped closer.
“You are a waitress who learned a few hand gestures.”
Emma felt the insult land, but Eleanor reacted first.
She signed so sharply that even Vanessa understood the anger.
Emma translated anyway.
“She says I am the only person in this room who has heard her correctly all night.”
Adrian looked at his aunt.
“Go home.”
Vanessa laughed.
“You're choosing a server and a confused old woman over your own family?”
Adrian's expression hardened.
“I'm choosing to stop calling Grandmother confused until someone proves it without a doctor on our payroll.”
For the first time, Eleanor looked at him with something close to relief.
The moment did not last.
A hotel employee rushed in carrying a tablet.
Marcus Hale had been seen leaving through the loading dock.
He was carrying a small black case.
Adrian headed for the elevator.
Emma followed.
“No.”
Adrian blocked her path.
“You're going home with security.”
“If the proof concerns Eleanor, I can identify what she meant.”
“You can also get hurt.”
“So can she.”
Eleanor slapped the elevator button and stepped inside.
Adrian stared at her.
“Absolutely not.”
Eleanor signed.
Try stopping me.
Emma translated with a straight face.
Adrian muttered something under his breath and entered the elevator.
They reached the loading dock just as a black sedan accelerated toward the exit.
Eleanor pointed at it.
Marcus.
Adrian ran after the car, but it vanished into traffic.
A security guard recovered a small object from the pavement.
One blue cuff link.
On its back was a smear of red.
Blood.
Eleanor stared at it and suddenly touched the side of her neck.
Her face tightened.
Emma noticed a tiny puncture mark beneath the pearl necklace.
“Adrian.”
He turned.
Eleanor swayed.
Emma caught her before she hit the concrete.
The elderly woman tried to sign, but her fingers had begun to tremble.
One hand formed a single word against Emma's sleeve.
Wine.
Adrian ordered a second review of every staff badge used during the blackout.
One temporary credential had opened the service corridor thirty seconds before the lights failed.
The credential belonged to a banquet medic assigned by an outside contractor.
Marcus had personally approved that contractor.
Emma wrote the medic's name on a napkin and slipped it into her pocket.
She did not know yet why it mattered.
She only knew the same people kept appearing wherever Eleanor's ability to speak for herself was being erased.
May you like
Then Eleanor lost consciousness.
The Last Translation
