They Chose Their Adopted Daughter, So the Real Heiress Walked Out novel · Chapter 9 of 24
Chapter 9: Family Day
Family Day was held on the front lawn of Marlow State, under a white tent the size of a church.
There were round tables, a string quartet and three hundred donors in good coats.
Over the stage hung a banner that said The Weatherford Foundation: Every Child Belongs.
I walked in at noon in the only dress I owned, with the other eleven members of the Bridge Cohort behind me.
The man in work boots had borrowed a tie. The girl with the baby had the baby in a carrier on her chest, wearing a tiny cardigan somebody had knitted.
The boy in the back row had his hood down.
Every head at the nearest tables turned.
"They look like a team," one of the donors said to another.
"They're a team," I said, passing.
My mother stood at the foot of the stage in a pale-blue suit, shaking hands.
When she saw me, she smiled with her whole face.
It was perfect, and it was meant for the donors.
"Talia, darling. You came."
"I told Chloe I'd think about it."
"And you have. I knew you would." She kissed the air beside my cheek. "Sit with the family."
"We'll sit with the Cohort."
"There's room at the front."
"We'll sit at the back."
She looked at the dozen of us, and for half a second her smile slipped.
Then it was back.
On the stage, Eli tapped a microphone.
He was in a navy blazer with the Foundation's pin on the lapel.
"Thank you, everyone. Before the scholarship presentation, I'd like to invite my sister up. We've all had a difficult month, and she's here."
He looked straight at me.
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