I met his eyes. “When I begged you to look at me in that hospital, you turned away. When I begged to keep my baby, you let them tear her from my arms. There is no working this out.”
A social worker stepped forward with a court order granting me full custody pending investigation. Bennett tried to approach, but security blocked him.
Maribel was brought to me by her nanny. The moment I held her, the world realigned. My heart stitched itself back together.
Vivienne screamed as officers escorted her out. Bennett sank to his knees in front of the stage lights.
I turned to the audience. “For years you praised this family as pillars of society. Philanthropists. Role models. You applauded their wealth. But wealth means nothing when it is built on the bones of others. You are all witnesses tonight to a truth they worked very hard to bury.”
I left the ballroom. I walked out with my daughter in my arms and the snow beginning to fall softly like confetti from heaven.