Chapter 2 - What the Guests Saw
I reached the staircase before Lily struck the landing. She was conscious, but her head rolled against my shoulder and her breathing came in quick, shallow bursts. Ethan knelt beside us, his face stripped of its usual certainty.
"Sweetheart, look at me." He held her hand. "We're getting help."
Across the hall, Vivienne said, "She's overwhelmed. Grace frightened her."
"Stop talking," Ethan answered without looking up.
Rosa Paredes joined us. I'd already called for medical help. She wanted to sit up, but the dispatcher advised us to keep her comfortable and wait for the paramedics. I told them what I'd observed, without guessing what the syringe contained.
Guests drifted toward the exits. Ethan's security director, Leo Marsh, blocked the main doorway long enough to ask for contact information, then allowed people to leave. He did not try to search their bags or confiscate their phones.
"You can't hold a private party hostage," Vivienne snapped.
"No one is being held," Leo said. "But the officers will want witnesses."
Vivienne turned to Ethan. "I hired that woman on your recommendation. And now she's slapped me in front of everyone."
"Grace struck your arm," Rosa said quietly. "I saw you standing beside the milk tray. That's all I saw."
The paramedics arrived and began examining Lily. One asked about prescriptions, allergies, and the timing of her symptoms. Vivienne started to answer for the child.
"I need to hear from her guardian," the paramedic said.
Ethan admitted he did not know what Lily had been given. The shame in his voice made me ache, but shame wasn't useful until somebody did something with it.
As they prepared to take Lily to the hospital, an officer asked me to describe the syringe. I pointed to where it lay untouched. Leo showed him the security cameras and said the dining-room footage was being preserved.
Vivienne's attorney called while she waited near the fireplace. She stood with her back to us, speaking so softly I caught only a sentence: "They have the child talking."
Ethan heard it too.
May you like
He went completely still, then asked, "Who is 'they,' Vivienne?"
She ended the call without answering.
