Chapter 6: The Speech That Was Never Mine
The ballroom was silent when we entered.
Hundreds of people turned toward us.
The same people who had ignored my screams less than an hour earlier.
Now they were watching.
Waiting.
I hated that.
But I kept walking.
My dress was wrinkled.
My hair was messy.
My hands were shaking.
Yet I refused to lower my head.
Because I realized something.
Madison wanted me hidden.
She wanted me embarrassed.
She wanted everyone to believe I didn’t belong.
Walking into that room was the opposite.
I belonged.
The stage lights were bright.
At the podium stood a man I recognized.
Richard Whitmore.
Madison’s uncle.
The chairman of the foundation.
He smiled when he saw me.
Too smoothly.
“Emma.””
His voice echoed through the room.
“We were worried.””
I almost laughed.
Worried?
I looked at the audience.
“At what?””
The smile on his face weakened.
“At your absence.””
Daniel stepped beside me.
Richard noticed him.
And his expression changed.
Only for a second.
But I saw it.
Fear.
“Daniel Hayes.””
Richard forced a smile.
“I didn’t expect you here.””
“That’s usually the point of surprises.””
A few people in the audience whispered.
Richard ignored him.
Then he looked at me.
“Emma, perhaps we should discuss this privately.””
“No.””
The word surprised him.
I walked closer to the stage.
“You wanted everyone here to hear something.””
The room went quiet.
“So let everyone hear it.””
Richard’s smile disappeared.
Madison stood near the entrance.
Watching.
For once, she wasn’t enjoying the attention.
Richard adjusted his jacket.
“I think there has been a misunderstanding.””
“A misunderstanding?””
I looked at the crowd.
“I was dragged into a storage shed.””
Gasps spread through the room.
Richard immediately looked toward Madison.
“Is this true?””
Madison opened her mouth.
Nothing came out.
That was enough.
People started whispering.
Richard turned back to me.
“Emma, if something happened, we can handle it.””
“No.””
I shook my head.
“You can’t handle this quietly anymore.””
The room became completely silent.
I reached into my bag.
The envelope.
I hadn’t opened it yet.
But I held it where everyone could see.
Richard’s face changed.
“What is that?””
I looked at him.
“My father’s final message.””
The room reacted immediately.
Richard stepped forward.
“Emma, you don’t understand what you have.””
“Then explain it.””
He stopped.
Daniel watched him carefully.
Evelyn entered behind me.
The moment Richard saw her, his confidence disappeared.
“Evelyn.””
Her voice was cold.
“Richard.””
Nobody spoke.
Then Richard said quietly:
“You brought her here.””
Evelyn looked at me.
“No.””
She looked around the room.
“She brought herself.””
The crowd watched.
Waiting.
I opened the envelope.
Inside was one page.
My father’s handwriting.
My hands trembled as I read the first line.
Emma,
If you are reading this, it means they failed to keep you away from the truth.
My eyes burned.
The room blurred.
I continued.
The person who controls the Whitmore Foundation will try to convince you I was your enemy.
Don’t believe them.
The truth is…
I stopped.
Because the next sentence made my entire body go cold.
Daniel noticed my expression.
“What does it say?””
I looked up slowly.
Everyone was watching me.
And then I read the words aloud.
“My father wrote that the person who betrayed him…”
I looked at Evelyn.
Then Richard.
Then Madison.
“…is someone standing in this room tonight.””
Nobody moved.
Then the lights suddenly flickered.
The ballroom doors slammed shut.
And every screen in the room turned on at the same time.
A voice filled the ballroom.
“Emma Carter.””
My blood ran cold.
Because I knew that voice.
Everyone knew that voice.
May you like
It was my father’s.
But my father had been dead for four years.
