Then toward the upper levels.
“The corporate operation occupying the floors above us.”
He looked back at Evelyn.
“She is the controlling owner.”
Brennan looked down at Camille’s license.
Martin’s face went pale.
One employee covered her mouth.
Evelyn’s shoulders dropped.
Then came the sentence Camille had expected.
“Well, if I had known—”
Camille raised one hand.
“Stop.”
Evelyn froze.
“That is the problem.”
“I only meant—”
“If you had known I owned the company, you would have treated me differently.”
“No.”
Camille looked at her.
“Yes.”
“You just told me.”
Evelyn glanced around at the phones.
“I didn’t mean it like that.”
Camille nodded slightly.
“Most people don’t.”
Brennan handed back the license.
His voice had changed too.
“Ms. Porter, it appears there’s been a misunderstanding.”
Camille slipped the card into her wallet.
“Was it a misunderstanding two minutes ago?”
Brennan said he had been responding to a complaint. Camille agreed that he had received one, then asked whether his explanation would sound this careful if Julian had never walked downstairs. Brennan looked toward his body camera.
Camille followed his eyes.
“Please keep recording.”
He said nothing.
Martin stepped closer.
“Ms. Porter, I can explain.”
Camille looked at him.
“You had forty minutes to explain before you knew my name.”
Martin stopped.
Julian began apologizing for the store.
Camille shook her head.
“Not yet.”
She looked toward the sales associates.
“Who called Julian?”
A young Asian American woman standing near the accessories counter raised one hand slowly. Her name was Lena Park, she was twenty-six, and she had been with Vale Rowe for eleven months.
“I did.”
Camille asked why.
Lena swallowed.
“Because something felt wrong.”
Then she admitted the second reason.
“I recognized you from the annual employee webcast.”
Martin turned sharply.
“You knew who she was?”
Lena flinched.
Camille immediately stepped between the question and the employee.
“No.”
Martin stopped.
“Do not make her responsible for what happened.”
The room went quiet.
Camille looked back at Lena.
“Thank you for making the call.”
Lena nodded.
Camille then turned toward Julian and told him to preserve every security angle covering the floor, all available audio, employee schedules, register logs, incident records, and any prior complaint involving Evelyn Carrington. Evelyn’s eyes widened.