Echoes of Titanic Read Online Free PDF Page B

Kelsey noticed a few nods of sympathy among those sitting nearby. Her acknowledgments complete, she clasped her hands together, placed them on the podium in front of her, and looked out at the audience, allowing a moment of silence before delivering the most important part of her speech. In that moment, it was almost as if she could feel the room coming together as one, an eager and listening entity ready to hear whatever she’d come to say.
    â€œJust about one hundred years ago today,” she began, her eyes slowly scanning the faces in the room as she spoke, “over in Belfast, Ireland, a young woman named Adele Brennan was getting ready for the most important voyage of her life. She was just nineteen at the time, a brave, smart, and resourceful girl who was fascinated with, of all things, business , something that was practically unheard of for a woman of her generation.”
    Kelsey paused to let that thought sink in, and then she continued.
    â€œMaking the trip with Adele was her cousin Jocelyn and her uncle, Rowan Brennan. On April tenth, nineteen twelve, the three of them made their way to Southampton, England, and boarded the grandest ship that had ever been built: Titanic . They were bound for America, where Adele would be reunited with the father she hadn’t seen for sixteen years.” Kelsey looked around at the silent, rapt audience. She would have liked to give a more detailed version of Adele’s story, but today her time was limited.
    â€œFour days later, as I’m sure you all know, Titanic struck an iceberg in theNorth Atlantic and sank. Both Jocelyn and Rowan died that night. Of the three travelers, only Adele survived.”
    Kelsey paused a moment to let that sink in, but as she took a deep breath to continue, she heard a strange sound coming from the back of the auditorium, a low, chanting drone that started out soft but quickly grew louder. Others could hear it as well, and heads began rotating to look. Even Walter turned around in his seat to see what was making such an odd noise.
    Kelsey’s eyes scanned the auditorium, trying to match the source of the sound with the person making it. Soon, she realized that it was a man, and he was repeating one word over and over. At first she thought it was “ire” or “fire,” but after a moment she realized what he was saying: liar .
    The man stood, shouting the word at the top of his lungs, “Liar! Liar!”
    Stunned, Kelsey looked to Walter, but he had already jumped up and was quickly striding up the aisle toward the back of the auditorium. She thought he was going to try and apprehend the man himself somehow, but instead he slipped out the back, probably to alert security.
    Everyone else stayed where they were, clearly stunned at this odd turn of events. Suddenly, as quickly as the chanting had begun, the man stepped out into the aisle and pointed at Kelsey. She had never seen him before, and for a moment she was afraid he might pull out a gun and take a shot at her. Instead, he simply cried out, “Lies! It’s all lies! The real Adele Tate did not survive Titanic! ’
    That earned a gasp not just from the audience but from Kelsey herself. What was this lunatic talking about?
    â€œThe woman who claimed to be Adele was actually an imposter,” he continued loudly, his eyes gleaming behind dark-rimmed glasses. “She stole the real Adele’s identity, stole this company, and then lived out that lie for the rest of her life!”

CHAPTER
THREE
    K elsey gripped each side of the podium, her mind racing. Someone needed to shut this man up—though a part of her very much wanted to hear what he had to say. He was lying, of course, but he must have some reason for making such a crazy claim.
    Suddenly, the back door of the auditorium swung open and two security guards came marching in, followed by Walter. At that moment, as if sensing that the most interesting person at this event was about