Chapter 6 - THE OLD INCIDENT
Three days later Naomi received a call from an old family friend.
Eleanor Shaw.
Seventy-two.
Former executive assistant to Robert.
“Naomi, I think there’s something you should know.”
Naomi sat down.
“What?”
“Carla had another incident.”
“When?”
“Eight years ago.”
Naomi went still.
She remembered Carla abruptly leaving Chicago for six months.
The family said:
burnout.
Travel.
A bad breakup.
Eleanor told a different story.
Carla had attended a Reed Foundation fundraiser.
A junior event coordinator named Megan Cole challenged a last-minute seating change.
Carla became furious.
Later in the loading area, Carla shoved Megan into a stack of folded banquet chairs.
Megan injured her wrist.
Not catastrophic.
But enough for medical treatment.
Naomi had never heard.
“What happened?”
Eleanor hesitated.
“Your parents handled it.”
“How?”
“Megan received a settlement.”
“That’s normal if the foundation had liability.”
“Yes.”
Then:
“But your mother also pressured her not to file a police report.”
Naomi’s stomach dropped.
“Was Dad involved?”
“He signed the settlement.”
“Did he know about the pressure?”
“I don’t know.”
Important.
No assumptions.
Then Eleanor said:
“Carla was removed from public events for six months.”
Naomi remembered.
Burnout.
Travel.
No.
Internal punishment disguised as lifestyle choice.
The family had not solved the behavior.
The old Megan Cole incident also became more complicated after Naomi contacted her.
Megan was thirty-six now.
Married.
Working in event operations at a university.
She did not want publicity.
Naomi respected that.
They spoke once by video.
“I’m sorry,” Naomi said.
Megan looked tired.
“You didn’t push me.”
“No. But my family handled it.”
“They paid my medical bill.”
“And asked you to stay quiet.”
Megan paused.
“Your mother did.”
Naomi swallowed.
“Did my father?”
“I don’t know.”
Again, uncertainty.
Megan continued:
“The worst part wasn’t the wrist.”
“What was?”
“Everyone acted like I had created the problem by wanting it documented.”
Naomi closed her eyes.
That sentence matched the barbecue perfectly.
Danger happened.
Then the person who named it became inconvenient.
Megan declined any new claim.
The old settlement remained.
She only asked:
“Don’t use my name publicly.”
Naomi promised.
The independent review referred to the incident anonymously.
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That was enough.
They had concealed the consequence.
