CHAPTER 10: A Life Measured in Seconds
Eleanor sat in a small office beside the ballroom while paramedics checked her pulse.
She had not swallowed the wine. The doctor said that mattered. It might have been seconds away from being too late, depending on what else had been placed in the glass with the spider.
The spider itself was contained now, its dark body sealed inside evidence glass. The packet had been bagged and labeled. The police would not say much, but Detective Bennett’s face told Eleanor enough.
Richard had not just meant to embarrass her.
He had meant to remove her.
Ethan sat on a chair across the room, his feet not reaching the floor. Mara stood behind him, one hand resting on his shoulder. Sam waited near the door, arms folded, as if he had appointed himself the boy’s guard.
Eleanor wanted to speak, but the words would not come.
All evening, she had been praised for helping children. Yet when a real child stood in front of her, frightened and telling the truth, she had chosen to humiliate him.
She had called him a thief.
She had made the room laugh at him.
Ethan looked at her once, then quickly looked away.
May you like
That hurt more than she expected.
For the first time in years, Eleanor Vale understood the difference between being admired and being worthy of admiration.
