“Maxi!” A woman ran up the stairs, her arms up and her smile wide. I blinked, my stomach tightening for a briefsecond. In the dark lighting, I could have sworn it was my Daisy. A second glance proved otherwise.
I turned slightly and was surprised to see Max Stanton walking from behind me. I hadn’t been able to find them down below because he’d been up here. I took a deep breath, cooling my nerves.
“Skye.” He greeted her with a deep kiss on the lips. I turned away to pretend to look at the party below, but my focus remained on the scene behind me.
“Actually, I am adopting a new name. My stage name will be Lilly Lacely.”
“Lilly Lacely, interesting,” Max said. His tone was that of unease, but I couldn’t see his face to fully understand what was going on. He didn’t dwell on it, though. He quickly introduced Neal to her. “This is Daisy’s cousin; he just moved to town.”
“They,” Neal corrected. I couldn’t see their faces from here, but I could feel the tension as Neal spoke to Max. It was an odd pairing, the two of them.
“Right, sure.” Max snickered, confirming what I thought of him. I wondered if Daisy had asked them to hang out. There was no other reason I could think of as to why they’d be here together.
Fully conscious of every move I made, I slowly turned and found a solo chair in the far end of the lounge. I was able to view them from a distance, albeit unable to hear them. Hiding my presence here was more important though, so I stayed in the shadows, and when a waitress came over to offer me another drink, I gave her two one-hundred-dollar bills to tell me what the other party was discussing.
I was disappointed and almost bored to find out that Neal, Max, and Lilly were doing nothing but having a good night out. Any tension about Max purposely misgenderingNeal must have been brushed aside in favor of a fun evening. Maybe I’d read it all wrong. Were Neal and Max friends? Jealousy seeped into my soul as I watched them laughing and drinking together. Cocaine was brought out, and all three did lines right at the table. More people joined their party, and it was hard to keep track of them.
Eventually, I had to step away and stop watching. Lilly sitting on Max’s lap, facing away from me, made her look so much like my Daisy, I couldn’t take it. It was like witnessing my worst nightmares thirty feet away. I stood at the railing, looking down, when there was a commotion. I turned in time to see Max standing over Lilly.
“What did you say?” he demanded.
His mistress glared at him and muttered something I couldn’t hear. In one swift move, Max clenched his fist and pulled back, swinging at her face. It made contact before anyone could stop him.
Lilly screamed, and security came running to pull him away from her.
“Don’t you talk about Daisy!” Max screamed. His face was red, his hair wild. He was obviously coked out of his mind.
I licked my lips and went to the bar to pay my tab. It was time to go. I’d seen enough.
Now that I knew his secret, what did I do with it?
Chapter 13
Daisy
I staredat the massive building. I’d never been this close to the Tennant Opera House before. This was where my parents, my Nona, and many of my ancestors danced. This place was more than crumbling brick to me—it was a legacy ripped from under my feet. I had meant to dance here, and then they’d closed the doors.
But now, someone had purchased it. When we got word, it was assumed that the new owner would bulldoze it and start anew on the property, but no, they’d chosen to start renovating almost immediately. It was almost impressive how fast they’d moved.
Almost as if... they knew...
I shook the absurd thought from my head. They didn’t know me. I was just a silly little ballerina. I was nothing in the scheme of things. I cleared my throat and wrapped my shawl around me tighter as I reached for the door handle. Steeling my spine, I tugged on the large door. It made a loud groan as I stepped inside, instantly engulfed in darkness.
I let out a small shriek as security lights flickered on. Ifrowned, uneasily. I’d been told to come today at 6pm. Shouldn’t someone be here?
“Hello?” I called into the darkness, greeted only by the echo of my own voice. As I stepped forward, the lights seemed to follow, flicking on as I walked. “Hello, I am looking for the owner of the Tennant. He was supposed to meet me here.” I realized they’d never given me a name.
Madame De La Rosa had called and asked me to meet her for coffee, where she’d explained the problem. The owner was receptive to the request for our company performing here when it was reopened, however, the owner wanted to meet the Prima Ballerina, alone.
I walked through the grand hall, admiring the tall pillars and large, over-exaggerated curtains. While it was difficult to see in this light, it was just as I’d seen in pictures. I marveled at the cost of this renovation. Not only were they restoring it to its former glory, they were doing it at an impressive rate. By winter, they’d be ready for their first show, maybe even fall.
I made it to the auditorium. Just as I reached the open doors, a loud bang came from the far end of the room and I jumped. A spotlight had turned on. It lit up the stage, but there was no one there.
Slowly, the room filled with a dim, yellow light.
“Hello.” A voice came from somewhere. It was altered, raspy.
I stepped into the room and walked slowly, cautiously, down the ramp and toward the stage. “Are you who I’m looking for?”
