Chapter 13 - THE PUBLIC HEARING
Three months later, the state education committee held public hearings.
The room was packed.
Cameras lined the walls.
Parents filled every seat.
Lila sat beside Elliot.
“You don’t have to speak.”
“I know.”
“You can change your mind.”
“I know.”
She squeezed his hand.
“I want to.”
Peyton was there too.
Living with an aunt.
Her parents faced criminal trials.
When Lila’s name was called, she walked to the microphone.
She looked small behind the desk.
But her voice was steady.
“My name is Lila Mercer.”
She paused.
“At school, I used the name Lila Reed.”
“Reed was my mother’s name.”
“She believed people should be treated with dignity even when nobody important was watching.”
The room became silent.
“I thought being normal meant hiding who my father was.”
“I thought if nobody knew I had money, I would know who really liked me.”
She looked down for a second.
“I learned something else.”
“People show you who they are when they think you cannot hurt them back.”
Elliot felt his throat tighten.
Lila continued.
“Some students hurt me.”
“Some adults saw it.”
“The adults were worse.”
Murmurs moved through the room.
“Because kids can learn.”
“Adults already know better.”
Peyton lowered her head.
Lila described the lunches.
The videos.
The closet.
The surveillance room.
She never exaggerated.
She didn’t need to.
Then Maya testified.
Then other students.
One after another.
By the end of the day, there were thirty-eight victims on record.
Outside, reporters surrounded Elliot.
“What will you do with Ashbury Hall?”
“Will Mercer Industries purchase the campus?”
“Will you sue?”
Elliot stopped.
“The families will decide what justice looks like.”
A reporter shouted,
“And your daughter?”
Elliot looked toward Lila.
“She already decided what courage looks like.”
That night, Dana brought news.
The state had ordered Ashbury Hall closed permanently at the end of the term.
Elliot expected relief.
Instead, Lila looked sad.
“What’s wrong?”
“Good teachers work there too.”
Elliot nodded.
“And kids who didn’t do anything.”
“Yes.”
“So what happens to them?”
Elliot stared at his daughter.
Then an idea formed.
“What if the building stayed a school?”
Lila frowned.
“But Ashbury is closing.”
“I didn’t say Ashbury.”
She understood.
“Dad.”
He smiled.
“Want to build something better?”
Lila smiled for the first time in days.
But then Dana’s phone rang.
Her expression changed.
“What?”
She looked at Elliot.
May you like
“Caroline escaped custody during a hospital transfer.”
Lila’s smile vanished.
