Chapter 14 - The Night of the Gala
I was discharged on Thursday with instructions to breathe deeply, take medication carefully, and avoid anyone who enjoyed kicking elderly women. The last recommendation came from my nurse, Tess, who said it with a straight face.
I stayed at Malcolm's sister's small house across town. Maya stayed there too under a temporary agreement supervised by our attorneys. Malcolm slept on the couch, where he could hear if she had a nightmare.
At six on Friday evening, he left for the Harbor House gala carrying only his phone, a notebook, and a promise not to confront Sloane. Andrea attended with him. I waited at home beside the television, refusing to watch the live stream until someone told me Maya was safe.
Celia had hired security to keep the event calm. Sloane was permitted to attend as a donor but not to speak for the charity. That was the plan.
At seven fifteen, she walked onto the stage anyway. She wore a silver gown and carried a microphone like a weapon. A hundred guests stopped talking.
"My family has been torn apart by false accusations," she announced. "But I have a message for anyone who has ever been silenced."
Malcolm rose from his seat. Andrea touched his arm, then spoke to event security. Sloane smiled from the stage and gestured toward the side doors.
A little girl in a yellow coat stood there. Elsie. She was not alone; her mother rushed after her, looking horrified.
"Don't you dare," Elsie's mother shouted.
The microphone caught every word. The room froze.
Celia stepped onto the stage and cut the feed. Security escorted Elsie and her mother to a private room. Sloane tried to follow, but Malcolm stood in the aisle and said a sentence he should have spoken months earlier.
May you like
"You're not using another child to save yourself."
Victor Lane appeared behind the curtain holding a laptop. He turned when he saw Andrea watching him, and hurried toward the service exit.
