Chapter 4 - BUDDY BECOMES PUBLIC
Someone posted the lake video.
Not Emily.
A guest.
It showed only the rescue aftermath:
Emily soaked,
Buddy trembling,
Margaret saying:
“It’s just a stupid puppy.”
The throw itself was not captured clearly.
Another angle surfaced later.
Farther away.
Enough to show Margaret carrying the bag toward the lake.
Not enough to see Buddy inside before the splash.
Still.
The internet exploded.
CARTER HUMANE FOUNDATION CHAIR ACCUSED OF THROWING PUPPY INTO LAKE.
Margaret issued a statement.
She said:
Buddy had gotten into party food.
She was trying to remove him from the guest area.
The bag was open and used to carry wet supplies.
The puppy entered the water during confusion.
Emily became emotional.
Emily read it twice.
“That’s a lie.”
Lauren Pierce called her.
“Do not respond publicly yet.”
“You represent my mother.”
“I represent the foundation.”
Important distinction.
Then:
“If your mother used foundation communications staff to issue a false personal-defense statement, that becomes another governance issue.”
Emily stopped.
Margaret had used the foundation’s official account.
Not her own.
Again:
private crisis,
May you like
charitable resources.
Pattern.
