Chapter 1 - THE MAID BEHIND THE MASKNo one noticed the woman cleaning beneath the chandeliers.
That was exactly what Sophie Beaumont wanted.
She moved quietly across the polished marble floor of Galerie Lumière, one of the most luxurious private art galleries in Paris.
Crystal light spilled over her blue cleaning uniform.
Yellow gloves covered her hands.
A white surgical mask concealed the scars along the left side of her face.
Around her, wealthy guests admired paintings worth more than most Paris apartments.
Waiters carried silver trays of champagne.
A string quartet performed beside a wall of tall windows overlooking the Seine.
At the center of the gallery stood Adrian Beaumont.
At forty-two, Adrian still had the dignified appearance Sophie remembered.
His dark hair was neatly styled.
His black tuxedo fitted him perfectly.
He smiled at investors and collectors with calm confidence.
Only his eyes had changed.
They looked more tired.
Beside him stood Vivian Laurent.
Her long dark-red hair fell over one shoulder of her luxurious red designer dress.
She kept one hand lightly around Adrian’s arm.
To the guests, they appeared elegant and inseparable.
The evening was supposed to celebrate the reopening of the Beaumont family’s private collection.
It was also supposed to announce their engagement.
Sophie had learned that from a newspaper.
For five years, she had believed her husband and daughter were beyond her reach.
Now they stood less than thirty feet away.
Sophie lowered her head and continued cleaning.
She had not come to create a scene.
She needed to see Chloe.
Only once.
Then she would decide whether the fragments returning to her memory were real.
A small girl appeared beside Adrian.
Chloe Beaumont was five years old.
Blonde curls framed her sweet face.
Her pink princess dress shimmered beneath the chandeliers.
Sophie stopped breathing.
The last time she held Chloe, her daughter had been only seven months old.
Chloe had slept against her chest with one hand curled around Sophie’s necklace.
Now she walked, spoke and smiled.
Five years had happened without her mother.
Vivian bent down and adjusted the child’s dress.
“Stay beside me,” she said.
Chloe looked toward Adrian.
“Can I see the blue painting?”
“After the announcement,” Vivian replied.
Adrian crouched.
“Let her look.”
Vivian’s smile remained polite.
“She needs to learn patience.”
Chloe lowered her eyes.
Sophie recognized that expression.
The child was trying to become smaller so an adult would not become angry.
A champagne glass slipped from a waiter’s tray.
It shattered near Chloe.
The little girl startled.
Sophie reacted without thinking.
She crossed the floor and knelt between Chloe and the broken glass.
“Don’t move, little bird,” she whispered in French. “The stars are sharp tonight.”
The words left her mouth automatically.
Chloe stared at her.
Sophie’s heart stopped.
That phrase had once belonged only to them.
Whenever baby Chloe reached toward Sophie’s crystal earrings, Sophie would laugh and say:
Don’t touch, little bird. The stars are sharp tonight.
Chloe stepped closer.
Vivian noticed.
“Chloe, come back.”
The girl did not move.
She studied Sophie’s eyes above the mask.
Then Sophie made another unconscious gesture.
She touched two fingers to her heart and then to Chloe’s forehead.
Their secret goodnight sign.
Chloe’s lips parted.
“Mommy?”
The quartet continued playing.
No one else heard.
Sophie’s eyes filled with tears.
Chloe ran.
Her pink dress moved through the crowd like a burst of color.
She threw both arms around Sophie’s neck.
“Mommy! You are here!”
The music stopped.
Every guest turned.
Adrian’s champagne glass slipped from his hand.
Vivian’s face became white.
Sophie held Chloe instinctively.
The little girl buried her face against the blue cleaning uniform.
“I knew you would come back,” Chloe sobbed.
Vivian pointed toward Sophie.
“Security!”
Her voice cracked.
“Get that woman out of here!”
Sophie looked over Chloe’s shoulder.
The terror on Vivian’s face was not surprise.
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It was recognition.
Vivian knew exactly who was behind the mask.
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