Chapter 11 - The Price of a Name
The next morning, a news station aired my picture beside the words WAITRESS AT CENTER OF STERLING PAYOFF CLAIM. They didn't say who had made the claim. They didn't need to.
A woman in the grocery store recognized me and moved her cart away. My landlord left a message asking if the police would be visiting. Three catering agencies canceled interviews without calling.
I sat at Tessa's kitchen table while Noah washed the same coffee mug three times.
"Stop," I told him.
"I don't know what else to do."
I took the mug, dried it, and set it down. "Neither do I. But we can start with breakfast."
Tessa had saved the original video, including its metadata. Ortiz arranged for it to be copied under proper evidence procedures. A civil attorney, Simone Park, agreed to represent me after viewing it.
"Don't speak to reporters alone," Simone said. "And don't delete a thing. Not even the ugly messages."
"How much do I owe you?"
"We'll discuss payment when you're not being framed by people with an entire communications department."
Adrian arrived that afternoon with a signed affidavit describing Vanessa's behavior and the basement attack. He didn't ask to come in until Noah opened the door.
"You were at the party," my brother said.
"I was."
"Why didn't you stop her before the first kick?"
Adrian looked directly at him. "I should have paid attention sooner."
Noah stepped aside, but he didn't smile.
Simone wanted to challenge the forged account through bank records. Ortiz obtained a warrant for the shell company's files. By evening investigators had located the account application: a copy of my ID, an old address, and a signature that looked painfully like mine.
"Someone had access to your paperwork," Simone said.
I remembered the catering office, where every employee's identification lay in a filing cabinet with a broken lock. Tessa pulled up the roster. Elliot Price had visited the office a week before the gala, claiming to review vendors.
May you like
Then my phone rang. It was an unfamiliar woman, whispering over the sound of waves.
"Maya Bennett? My name is Ruth Calder. If you want the truth, come alone. And don't tell the Sterlings."
