Chapter 5: The Gala

The letter said Margot's husband was concerned for her health.

She read it aloud in the lobby of the Drake with Elias beside her as her witness.

The lawyer in the gray suit stood there holding a dozen white roses.

It said her company cards were suspended for her own protection.

It said the Ellery Foundation gala was on Saturday night.

She would attend as Mrs. Whitcombe, or the board would assume what Otto had told them.

"Tell him I'll be there," Margot said.

She took the roses from the lawyer and put them in the nearest waste bin.

"And tell him I'm not coming alone."

On Saturday the ballroom of the Drake held three hundred people and a string quartet.

Bridget had zipped her into a black dress with thin straps, and said, "If he looks at your neck, bite him."

Margot walked in at eight with her hand through Elias's arm.

The room did what rooms do.

Conversation stopped in the near tables and moved outward in rings.

Photographers turned.

Somebody whispered Brubaker, and somebody else whispered, Is that Thaddeus's granddaughter?

"Smile," Elias said under his breath. "You're not here to be forgiven."

"I know why I'm here."

"Good. Breathe."

Otto was at the foot of the stage with a glass in his hand, and Claire stood a half step behind him in dark green.

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