“Because she mishandled it.”
Lorenzo looked down at the scarf again.
There was no stain.
No tear.
No damage.
“Interesting.”
Brenda’s confidence slipped another fraction.
Karen finally spoke.
“Mr.
Rossi, I don’t want trouble.”
His eyes moved toward her.
Karen forced herself not to look away.
“I saw that she was overwhelmed,” she said.
“The lights were bright.
People were crowding her.
Brenda told security to remove her.
I thought grabbing her would make it worse.
So I lowered the stimulation and waited for her to settle.
That’s all.”
“You knew what to do.”
“My cousin Noah gets overwhelmed sometimes at family gatherings.
I learned not to make it bigger by forcing him.”
Mia looked at Karen.
“You hummed.”
Karen managed a tiny smile.
“Yes.”
“The same song?”
“The same one.”
That was when the security guard returned.
He carried a small tablet, holding it as though it weighed much more than it did.
Brenda moved toward him.
“I’ll review it.”
Lorenzo extended one hand.
The guard gave the tablet to him instead.
Brenda stopped.
Lorenzo did not immediately press play.
He handed the device to one of the men who had entered with him.
“Start before Mia came in.”
The man tapped the screen.
There was no readable interface visible from where Karen stood, only moving images reflected faintly in Lorenzo’s eyes.
He watched.
Everyone watched him watching.
The first thing that changed was his jaw.
It tightened.
Then his shoulders became perfectly still.
Karen knew exactly what he was seeing.
Mia entering alone.
The child becoming overwhelmed beneath the lights.
Customers backing away.
Brenda pointing toward her.
Security moving closer.
Karen stepping between them.
Brenda shouting.
Karen kneeling.
The spotlight going dark.
The scarf.
