Chapter 7 - The Boy in the Photograph
Jonah Price was the face of the gala's fundraising campaign. His photograph had appeared on the giant ballroom screen between speeches: a boy with bright eyes and a school backpack, presented as proof that the Whitmore Foundation gave children a path forward.
I remembered his mother from the clinic. Tasha Price worked overnight shifts at a nursing home. She had requested help after their apartment building suffered a fire.
“Did they find her housing?” Evelyn asked.
“The foundation told her the funding had been exhausted.”
Evelyn closed her eyes. “We used that boy's face to raise almost two million dollars.”
I found Tasha's number in an old contact list. It was six in the morning. She answered on the fourth ring, voice tight with fear.
“Ms. Bennett? Please don't call this number again.”
“Tasha, it's Nia. Are you safe?”
A pause. Then, “They said Jonah could lose his school placement if I complained.”
“Who said that?”
“A woman from the foundation. She knew where we were staying.”
I heard a child asking for breakfast in the background. Tasha lowered her voice.
“They brought a camera crew to our room. They gave Jonah a coat for the picture and took it back afterward. When I asked about the housing grant, they said I was being ungrateful.”
I could barely speak. “I need to make this right.”
“Don't promise me what they promised me.”
She hung up.
Simone came to Evelyn's house after her morning rounds. She recognized the home-visit forms. She had signed off on medical referrals, not fundraising releases.
“Someone changed the document packets after we submitted them,” she said.
“And you suspected it?” I asked.
“I questioned Celia. She told me the clinic would lose its grant if I made accusations without proof.”
“I thought you were my friend.”
“I am. I was also scared of losing the only pediatric clinic in that neighborhood.”
Neither truth canceled the other.
Darius returned from checking public records. He carried a printout showing Harbor Point's old mailing address. Evelyn recognized it immediately.
“That's the building where Celia's brother ran his private security company.”
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On the second page was the firm's registered agent.
Marcus Whitmore.
