Chapter 2 - THE NAME THEY BURIED
Margaret did not ask for an explanation in front of the guests. She held my hands as if checking that I was real. “You disappeared,” she said. “Your mother told us you wanted a private life.”
I had never seen the letter she described.
Ethan led me into a quiet office while the ballroom filled with whispers. He apologized for his father’s challenge. I told him he had spoken up, which was more than most people had done.
He asked why I stopped dancing. I told him about the crash outside Milwaukee, the surgeries, and the doctor who said I might walk normally but should never expect to dance professionally again.
“What happened to your partner?” he asked.
“Daniel Reyes. He was driving.”
“Did he survive?”
“Yes. We don’t speak.”
May you like
Margaret arrived with a phone. The video of my dance was already spreading online. Then Ethan received a call. Someone had asked the hotel for me and left a message: Daniel knows the real reason Claire left the circuit.
My fingers went cold. For twelve years, I had believed the crash ended my career. Now someone was telling me it had been arranged.
