Page 25 of The Devil Goes to Washington

“The paparazzi found out you were here and sneaked in. Our security was only seconds behind them, but it was a little chaotic for a moment.” Lillian said, fanning herself.

“I’m sorry. Would it help if I left?” Evelyn suspected Michael and his staff had intentionally told the media about their location, in hopes of running them off again.

“No!” Micah clutched her arm.

“I agree, little man. Your place is here, Momma.”

“Thank you for dealing with that.”

“Wasn’t me. Security did the hard part. Then a guy named Ethan Shunderson stood in front of them, lights blaring in his face, and gave the typical privacy statement.”

“Ethan was here?”

“You know him? We thought you were sleeping so we didn’t ask if you wanted to see him. Also, he isn’t on your list, so we couldn’t answer any of his questions.”

“It’s fine. He’s my husband’s PR guy. Is he still here?”

“Nah. He left when he couldn’t get any details. I had a bunch of calls trying to get information too.” Lillian brushed it off like this happened all the time.

“I’m sorry we’re causing problems.”

“Listen here, you are not any trouble. You two need some rest. Is that husband of yours coming to help? What about your mom?”

“No, it’s just us. My mom is working night shifts. I haven’t even told her we’re here yet.” Evelyn avoided commenting about Michael, but Lillian was smart enough to read between the lines.

“You are not alone. We’ve been through a lot with you over the years. You’re a part of our family.” Lillian embraced them both.

“Thank you!”

“HOW IS IT THAT EVERYONE seems to know about Mrs. Harding’s middle-of-the-night escapade but me?” Michael paced the room, but the volume of his rant ensured his team on the conference call as well as the staff in his home office could hear him.

“It was a simple medical emergency. It’s been handled.” Blake stated.

It seemed so simple, but no one had bothered to include him in the process. Getting the update through social media was not how he planned to start the day.

“Except you didn’t think to involve me,” Michael shot back.

“Who would have thought you didn’t know where your wife and child were?” Blake defended himself.

“I went with her to make certain they were safe, like Mr. Banner asked,” Tilly showed her unfailing dedication.

“At what point did she slip away to meet her lover and stick you with the kid?” Heath demanded over the speaker.

“Sir!” Tilly and Banner exclaimed at Heath’s allegation.

“Outrageous indignation. Nice touch. So she’s bought you off too?” Heath continued to spew unfounded accusations.

“Heath, the pictures speak for themselves. Why are you stirring up trouble?” Meghan challenged.

“Pictures can be manipulated. I called the hospital myself and they don’t have anyone under any of her damn names registered there.” Heath responded with more hearsay than he would have tolerated in court.

“Counselor, perhaps you recall a little thing called HIPPA. You know as well, if not better, than I do, that the hospital is not allowed to provide you with any information about their patients.” Sabrina reprimanded.

“Michael, I was there too. It was a melee of media. You can see it yourself in this pic. Look at Evelyn’s alarmed expression, holding Micah close to her. Look at the pallor on his face and all the machines. Judge for yourself who’s telling you the truth.” Ethan pleaded, clicking through pictures to prove his statements.

“Alright, give me the summary of the unequivocal facts.” Michael sat in his plush leather chair and took a calming breath.

“Micah was unresponsive when brought into the ER around 11 PM. After being stabilized, he was admitted for observation. Per privacy laws, we were not able to gather more than that, except that this isn’t the first occurrence and the account is not under Evelyn’s name.” Meghan read from her notes.