CHAPTER 13: Mara’s Secret Fear
Mara did not sleep that night.
After the police interviews, after the hospital precaution check, after Eleanor arranged a car to take them home, Mara sat at her tiny kitchen table while Ethan slept on the couch under a blanket. She watched him breathe and tried not to imagine what could have happened if Richard had turned his anger toward her son sooner.
Her phone buzzed every few minutes.
Unknown numbers. Reporters. Former coworkers. A message from the banquet manager saying the hotel would “review staffing circumstances,” which meant Mara was probably losing her job for bringing Ethan near the ballroom.
Then another message arrived.
It was from Eleanor.
Please meet me tomorrow. I owe you more than an apology.
Mara stared at the words.
She did not trust wealthy people who suddenly became kind after witnesses appeared. She had spent too long carrying trays through their parties, hearing them speak gently in public and cruelly when doors closed.
But Ethan woke just enough to whisper, “Mom?”
“I’m here.”
“Is the lady okay?”
Mara swallowed hard. Even after being humiliated, her son worried about Eleanor.
“Yes,” Mara said. “Because of you.”
He closed his eyes again. “I didn’t steal.”
Mara crossed the room and kissed his forehead.
May you like
“I know, baby.”
And in the dark, she promised herself the world would know it too.
