Chapter 10
The Annual Lincoln Park Charity Gala was the event of the season.
It was where the old money and the new money mingled.
It was where reputations were made and destroyed.
Patricia had been planning to attend this gala for six months.
She had bought a ten-thousand-dollar dress.
She had reserved a premium table near the stage.
Even with Frank out on bail,
even with the scandal brewing,
Patricia refused to stay home.
She believed that showing her face would prove her innocence.
She believed she could charm the high society ladies into taking her side.
She called everyone,
telling them the arrest was a giant misunderstanding.
"Alice is deeply troubled,"
Patricia told the charity board over the phone.
"She set Frank up.
But we are holding our heads high.
We will not let this ruin our commitment to the community."
The board,
polite but skeptical,
did not cancel her tickets.
Alice knew Patricia would go.
Alice also knew the woman who ran the audiovisual department for the gala.
Her name was Chloe.
Chloe used to work for Alice's marketing firm.
Alice had mentored Chloe for three years.
Alice made a phone call.
"Chloe,
it's Alice."
"Alice!
Oh my gosh,
I have been reading the news.
Are you okay?"
"I am fine,
Chloe.
But I need a favor.
A massive favor.
It might get you fired."
Chloe laughed.
"I hate this job anyway.
The event planner screams at me every day.
What do you need?"
Alice explained her plan.
It was risky.
It was dramatic.
It was absolutely devastating.
"I have a video file,"
Alice said.
"I need it to play on the main projector screens.
Right after the keynote speech.
When the entire room is quiet and looking at the stage."
Chloe went silent for a moment.
"You mean the giant screens?
The ones that wrap around the ballroom?"
"Yes."
"And what is on the video?"
"The truth,"
Alice said.
"It will destroy the people who are trying to ruin me."
Chloe didn't hesitate.
"Send me the file.
I’ll patch it into the main cue list.
I will lock the control board so they can't turn it off immediately.
It will play for at least sixty seconds before they can pull the plug."
"Chloe,
you are an angel."
"No,
Alice.
I am just a girl who hates bullies.
Give them hell."
Alice hung up.
She looked at her reflection in the mirror.
The bruise on her face was fading to a dull yellow.
It would easily be covered by foundation.
But she wasn't going to cover it.
She was going to wear it like a badge of honor.
She opened her closet and pulled out a stunning emerald gown.
She had bought it for the honeymoon in Paris.
She had never gotten to wear it.
Tonight,
she would wear it to war.
She slipped the dress on.
She curled her hair.
She applied bold,
red lipstick.
She looked invincible.
She ordered a black car.
She was going to the gala.
May you like
She was not invited.
But that had never stopped her before.
