The drama should have ended there. Catarina was gone. The music was trying to restart.
But the doors opened again.
This time, there was a scuffle.
"You can't go in there!" a security guard shouted.
"We have an invitation!" a male voice argued. It was rough, desperate.
Three people pushed past the guards.
They looked like they had walked off a bus from the Rust Belt. Their clothes were clean but worn. The man wore a suit that was two sizes too big. The woman had a kind, tired face. The younger man, the one arguing, had fierce, intelligent eyes.
Ali's heart stopped.
It was them.
Griffith, Denise, and George Mckay.
Her biological family.
In her past life, they hadn't come tonight. They had come a week later, after the scandal had ruined her. She had been too ashamed to see them. She had let Carroll drive them away.
"Get them out!" Carroll screeched, spotting them. "Who let these beggars in?"
Senator Ellwood signaled the guards. "Remove them. Now."
"Wait."
Isadore's voice cut through the noise again.
He walked toward the entrance. Ali followed him, drawn by a magnetic pull.
The guards stepped back as Isadore approached.
George Mckay stepped in front of his mother, his fists clenched. "We're not leaving until we see her."
Isadore didn't look at George. He looked at Ellwood, his gaze like chips of ice.
"These people have an invitation," Isadore stated, his voice a low command. "One that I personally extended. Are you suggesting my guests are not welcome, Senator?"
The room went dead silent.
Ali stared at Isadore. She stared at her biological mother.
Denise blinked, squinting at the tall, powerful man in front of her, then her eyes locked onto Ali.
The world fell away. Ali saw the resemblance instantly. She had her eyes. She had her chin.
"Ali?" Denise choked out. "My baby?"
Tears pricked Ali's eyes. She wanted to run to her. She wanted to apologize for a lifetime of separation, for a lifetime of ingratitude she hadn't even committed yet in this timeline.
"Who are these people?" Carroll marched over, Mrs. Hoover, their housekeeper, trailing behind her like a shadow.
Mrs. Hoover took one look at Denise and turned the color of old parchment.
"Oh my god," Hoover gasped. She pointed a shaking finger at Denise. "Security! Arrest her! That's the woman! The one who was stalking us right before the kidnapping!"
It was a brilliant, evil lie. Hoover was striking first.
Carroll's eyes went wide. "What? The kidnapper?"
"Yes!" Hoover screamed, her voice cracking. "Years ago! She was lurking around for weeks! She's obsessed! A criminal!"
The crowd gasped. The narrative was shifting instantly. The poor, crazy woman trying to get to the Senator's daughter.
"No!" Denise cried. "That's not true!"
"Call the police!" Carroll yelled. "Get this psycho away from my daughter!"
Ali looked at Hoover. She saw the sweat on her upper lip. She saw the terror in her eyes.
Hoover was lying to save her own skin.
Ali stepped forward, placing herself between Denise and the guards.
"No one touches her," she said.
