Chapter 12 - The Price of a Photograph
The online video reached my younger brother in Ohio before I called him. He asked whether I was being sued, whether I had attacked a woman in front of wealthy guests, whether I was safe.
"I did strike her arm," I said. "I was trying to keep something from reaching Lily's milk. The police are looking into it."
"Then why does every clip stop before that part?"
"Because that's the part someone wanted people to see."
The video cost me an offer to work part-time at a nearby hotel. A manager canceled our interview with one cold sentence. I wanted to tell the world everything, but Lily's medical story wasn't mine to publish.
Ethan offered to have his public-relations staff call the hotel. I refused. "I don't need you to buy me a reputation. I need the original recording preserved."
He accepted that. Leo provided the full ballroom footage to investigators and secured a copy for legal counsel. It showed Vivienne handling the clutch, me striking her wrist, and the syringe falling before Lily spoke. It couldn't show what happened in Lily's bedroom over previous months.
Rosa asked the other servers to write down only what they'd personally seen. Two remembered Vivienne repeatedly insisting on carrying milk upstairs herself. Another recalled a nervous argument with Graham outside the coatroom.
When Detective Chen interviewed me again, she asked what I'd gain from lying.
"A terrible amount of attention," I said. "And nothing that helps that little girl."
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That night a message reached me from an unknown account. It contained a screenshot of my brother's workplace and a warning to stop talking.
I sent it straight to Chen. Whoever was behind the campaign knew my family, too.
