CHAPTER 4: Public Shame
Eleanor did not slap the boy. She was too polished for that.
Instead, she did something worse.
She bent slightly, bringing her face close to Ethan’s, and spoke in a voice that carried across the ballroom.
“Do you know what happens to children who lie to get attention?”
Ethan’s lips parted. His eyes filled, but he did not cry.
“I’m not lying.”
“You interrupted a gala,” Eleanor said. “You humiliated me in front of donors, guests, and board members. And now you are pretending there is a monster in my glass?”
A few people laughed nervously.
Ethan looked around at the adult faces. Some looked amused. Some looked uncomfortable. Some looked away, which hurt more than laughter.
Mara stepped between them. “Mrs. Vale, please. He’s a child.”
Eleanor straightened. “Then teach him manners.”
Richard Harlan reached for the glass. “Let me see the little thief’s prize.”
Ethan pulled it back quickly. The movement made the wine swirl. Something dark rolled up against the inside of the glass, then sank again.
A woman at the next table gasped. “Wait.”
But Eleanor had already turned back to the crowd.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” she announced, “apparently tonight’s entertainment is a child stealing wine and inventing stories.”
Mara’s cheeks burned. Ethan’s throat tightened.
He had wanted to save someone. Now everyone thought he was dirty, greedy, and desperate.
Then a photographer raised his camera.
May you like
The flash caught Ethan’s wet eyes, Eleanor’s pearls, and the red glass between them.
By morning, that image would be everywhere.
