Read Malevolent for Free Online Page A

hospital. It was as if her mind had simply erased it all.”
    “Self-preservation?”
    “That’s what I think. What happened to her was so horrible her mind made it all go away. She didn’t even know her name. Had to pick one out for herself.” Clara sniffed. “Based on her bones, Dr. Thompson estimated Shaye’s age at fifteen or thereabouts. He couldn’t be certain of the year, but he was certain she was a minor. We were about to call social services when Miss Archer showed up. Detective Beaumont had served on a charity board with her and had given her a call. I all but yelled hallelujah when she took a personal interest in the case.”
    “Charity board? Wait, Archer? As in Archer Manufacturing and State Senator Archer?”
    “His daughter.”
    Emma frowned, completely confused. “I don’t get it. What was a New Orleans socialite supposed to do? Pay her hospital bill?”
    “Corrine Archer may be one of the wealthiest women in New Orleans, but she’s the salt of the earth. And the best damned social worker we have in this city.”
    “Corrine the social worker is that Corrine?” Emma gasped. “Pierce Archer’s daughter? I never realized…”
    “Which is a testament to the caliber of woman she is. Corrine could be sitting in a ten-thousand-dollar leather chair in a boardroom or soaking up rays in the Bahamas full time, but she chose to help children. And against her father’s wishes, I might add.”
    “I’m absolutely blown away. I had lunch with her one day at a hot dog vendor outside of the hospital.” Emma shook her head, some of her faith in humanity instantly restored. If a woman of means like Corrine Archer chose to spend her time in the trenches helping children, then there might be hope for the future.
    “Corrine doesn’t usually throw her weight around. She wants to be seen and treated as any other social worker, but in this case, I was hoping she’d pull out her last name and get things done.”
    “Why?”
    “Because it was clear that Shaye had been through a horror the rest of us couldn’t even begin to imagine. Putting her in a group home or with foster parents wouldn’t have done a bit of good. The girl needed serious medical and psychological treatment, and Corrine could afford the best of everything.”
    “You’re saying she took custody of Shaye herself?”
    “Yes, ma’am. Corrine had her father pull some strings, and Shaye was placed in Corrine’s custody. Corrine got her entrenched in her home, cleaned up, and spending time daily with Eleonore Blanchet.”
    “I’ve always heard she’s the best.”
    “You’ve heard right. Eleonore brought that girl from the brink of madness back to reality—her new reality.” Clara shook her head. “Shaye had several surgeries to correct broken bones that hadn’t been set property. It took Eleonore a year before she could get Shaye to leave Corrine’s house, except for doctors’ visits.”
    “But that was only nine years ago. She seems so normal. How in the world could someone come from what you described to the woman I met today?”
    “Money to hire the best of the best, time, and a spirit that couldn’t be broken. Shaye could read and knew math up to multiplication and division, so they assumed she’d received at least an elementary education. Corrine hired the best tutors she could find and they worked with her every day in Corrine’s home. Shaye grabbed right on to those books and surprised everyone with her intelligence. In three years’ time, she took the GED and started college. When she turned eighteen, the state released her and Corrine adopted her. Shaye worked for a local detective agency while she was going to college and as best I know, has never looked back.”
    Emma shook her head. “That is the most incredible, awful, wonderful story I’ve ever heard. Did they catch the person who abused Shaye?”
    “No. With Shaye’s memory gone, the police didn’t have much to go on.”
    “I guess a child abuser isn’t