Chapter 13 - The Price of Silence
I did not agree to anything. I told Sloane every call should go through our lawyers and ended it. When I reported the call, Alvarez explained that a threatening or manipulative offer could be relevant, but its exact context mattered. We gave him the time and number rather than pretending a single sentence solved the case.
The man's voice stayed with me. I had heard it before, at Harbor House dinners, introducing sponsors in a booming voice. His name was Victor Lane. He managed fundraising contracts and was Sloane's closest business ally.
Andrea arranged for an independent accounting review of the charity donations Malcolm could lawfully inspect. The board commissioned a broader audit after Celia received the forged consent form and Denise's notebook. By then the gala was too close to cancel without major cost. Celia decided to proceed without Maya, while asking Sloane to step away from hosting.
Sloane did the opposite. She advertised a surprise announcement about protecting vulnerable children and promised an emotional testimony from an 'inspiring young voice.'
"She's not taking Maya onstage," Malcolm said.
"No," Andrea answered. "But don't assume you know the child she plans to use."
I thought of Elsie, the girl in the yellow coat. That evening an email came to the charity's confidential reporting address from Elsie's mother. She had seen Sloane's new advertisement. She wrote that her daughter had left the foundation's program months earlier after being pressured to tell a sad story that wasn't hers. The mother wanted to speak with the board's investigators, not the press.
For once, someone had made a responsible choice. Celia put the allegation into the independent review and arranged support for the family.
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The next morning, Malcolm found a box on our front steps. Inside lay the lavender feather from Maya's broken toy bird and a note in Sloane's handwriting.
ONE MORE STORY, MALCOLM, AND THE BIRD WILL NEVER SING AGAIN.
