CHAPTER 6: Names the Room Forgot to Fear

Sebastian touched Vivian's elbow, smiling now because he needed witnesses to remember him as patient.
'Let me handle this,' he said.
Vivian did not move.
'You already did.'
The answer was quiet, but it reached the front tables. Sebastian's smile tightened.
At the back of the ballroom, an older attorney in a black dress stepped away from the wall. Guests parted before knowing why. She carried a leather folder against her chest and wore the expression of someone who had waited through too many speeches for the truth to be scheduled.
Sebastian saw her and lost a fraction of color.
Vivian saw that too.
'You remember Lydia Crane,' Vivian said. 'My mother's attorney.'
'Former attorney,' Sebastian corrected.
Lydia stopped beside the easel. 'Counsel of record for the Rowe trust,' she said. 'Still active. Very inconvenient, I know.'
The donors became suddenly interested in the conversation. Old money loved legal language because it turned gossip into weather reports.
Sebastian's hand dropped from Vivian's arm.
Maisie hid her face in her mother's shoulder, but Vivian felt the child's breathing slow.