Tessa stood up, her chest heaving, a small, genuine smile gracing her lips for the first time in years.
She turned to Grant Holloway. The billionaire looked as though he had been physically struck. He was pale, clutching his microphone, entirely speechless. His cruel joke had spectacularly backfired, exposing his ignorance and illuminating her brilliance.
Tessa walked past him, pausing just long enough to speak over the roaring crowd.
"Keep your hundred dollars, Mr. Holloway," she said quietly, her voice cold and steady. "You need it more than I do."
As Tessa walked down the steps of the stage, the elderly man who had started the applause stepped into her path. He pressed a card into her hand.
"I am Arthur Vance," the man said, his eyes shining with tears. "I am on the board of the New York Philharmonic. What you just did... I haven't heard playing like that in decades. We need to talk about your future."
Tessa looked at the embossed gold lettering on the card, and then back up at the cheering crowd. She thought of Nadia, and she thought of her mother. The uniform she wore suddenly felt very temporary.
The invisible woman had made herself heard, and she knew she would never be silenced again.