Chapter 5 - The Colonel's ReprimandThe morning after the gala, Vanessa was summoned to General Brooks's office.
He didn't ask her to sit.
"You embarrassed the foundation."
"Yes, sir."
"You embarrassed Margaret."
"Yes, sir."
"And you embarrassed yourself."
Vanessa swallowed.
"Yes, sir."
Daniel placed a formal reprimand on the desk.
Vanessa stared at it.
Her career would survive.
Her pride might not.
"Do you know what bothers me most?" Daniel asked.
Vanessa remained silent.
"You followed every protocol."
She looked up.
"Sir?"
"The donor was important. The seating adjustment was reasonable. Nobody violated a regulation."
Daniel leaned forward.
"And somehow you still managed to be completely wrong."
That sentence stayed with her.
That evening, Vanessa drove to Margaret's modest house in Virginia.
Margaret opened the door.
"Colonel."
"I need to know about my father."
Margaret's humor vanished.
She stepped aside.
"Come in."
The house smelled like coffee and old books.
Thomas's photograph sat on the mantel.
Vanessa noticed boxes covering the dining table.
Old ledgers.
Letters.
Receipts.
Photographs.
Margaret opened one notebook.
Then she found a name.
SAMUEL STONE.
Vanessa stopped breathing.
Beside it was a handwritten entry.
$10.
"What is this?"
May you like
Margaret looked at her.
"The beginning."
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