“Pick that up from the floor right now!” — the manager shouted to the waitress, but the entire restaurant stopped when the woman took her apron off and said: “you’re fired.”…..

Mia lowered herself slowly to the floor.
Inside Le Ciel, time seemed to freeze. The clinking of silverware faded into an uneasy hush. The lights that once reflected warmly off gold accents and crystal suddenly felt cold—like silent witnesses to something everyone pretended not to see.

The Wagyu steak lay on the floor. The plate was shattered. The red sauce had spread outward, staining the marble like a wound.

Investors in tailored suits. Women adorned with diamonds. Chefs watching from behind the mirrored wall. Fellow waitresses frozen with fear at the edges of the room.

Mia knelt.