Chapter 12 - THREE HUNDRED WITNESSES
Naomi sent the threat to Ethan and the detective, then turned off the screen.
On gala night, she entered Whitmore House through the front door because Ruth was waiting there.
“You can still go home,” Ruth said.
“So can you.”
“And let them ruin the coffee?”
The ballroom looked ready for a wedding nobody wanted to discuss. White roses crowded the tables. Chandeliers threw light over crystal glasses. Three hundred guests murmured beneath the soft music, waiting to hear why the invitations had changed.
Vanessa arrived in champagne silk, wearing the emerald brooch.
Her father, Victor, stayed close to Marcus Hale near the terrace doors. Both men had been notified that the foundation was preserving records for investigators. Both had brought the calm expressions of men used to letting lawyers speak for them.
Ethan stood with the independent board chair near the stage. He had refused Vanessa's request for a private photograph.
She noticed Naomi carrying coffee and smiled instead.
“There you are.”
Naomi set the pot on a service table.
“Excuse me. I need to get back to work.”
Vanessa stepped into her path.
“After everything you've done, you still came here in that uniform.”
“It's my work uniform.”
“At least you remember something.”
A photographer turned toward them. Vanessa brightened for the lens, then knocked Naomi's empty cup from the table with the edge of her hand.
Porcelain broke across the floor.
“Clean it up.”
Naomi looked at the fragments.
“I'll get a broom.”
“Use your hands.”
At the next table, a woman stopped talking.
“Move back so nobody steps on it,” Naomi said.
Vanessa's smile tightened. She had expected obedience. The attention around them made anything less feel like defeat.
“You think standing beside him makes you one of us?”
“This isn't about Ethan.”
“Everything you've done is about Ethan.”
Naomi turned toward the service station.
Vanessa caught her sleeve. Naomi pulled free without striking her.
Then Vanessa stepped back, looked toward the camera, and drove her heel forward.
Naomi shifted off the line of the kick and caught her ankle.
The room went silent.
“Let go of me.”
“Put your hands down first.”
Vanessa lowered her raised hand.
“Please don't make me take this any further,” Naomi said.
Across the room, Marcus reached for his phone.
May you like
The new security chief moved toward them.
And Vanessa screamed, “She's attacking me!”
