Tomorrow night, two hundred guests were supposed to fill this room.
Instead, she stood in a dark ballroom suspended between possibilities.
Success.
Disaster.
Cancellation.
Vindication.
She no longer knew which future she was planning for. She lowered herself into a chair along the wall.
The ballroom was quiet except for the distant thump of music drifting up from the terrace below. For a while she just sat there.
The badge was gone. Her checklist was gone. The title was hanging by a thread. But Lou had handed her cookies. Dana had smiled. Tessa had checked on her. Jolene had fought for her.
The resort hadn’t turned its back on her. Not completely.
Her gaze drifted to the Christmas tree. Dark. Waiting. Not finished.
Her phone buzzed one more time.
I’m not going anywhere, Margot. Whenever you’re ready.
She read the message. Then read it again.
Outside, laughter floated up from the terrace.
The gala was still tomorrow. The vendors were still here. The florist was still installing greenery. Lou was still baking. Jolene was still running the schedule.
And somewhere on the property, Evan was still checking marina logs and looking for evidence because he believed she hadn’t done this.
He wasn’t asking for trust. He was earning it.
She looked at the dark ballroom. At the unlit tree. At a room that wasn’t finished yet.
Then she unlocked her phone.
Tomorrow. Dawn. Dock shed.
She hit send.
A second later, the reply arrived.
I’ll be there.
She slipped the phone into her pocket and stood.
The room hadn’t changed.
The tree was still dark. The tables were still bare. Tomorrow was still uncertain.
But for the first time all day, she wasn’t standing still.
She walked out of the ballroom and closed the door behind her.
Chapter thirty-one
