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I explain things as briefly as possible to my mother once we get to her place.
“I’m heading over to her place to see if she’s home. She’s not picking up.”
“What did I tell you, Weston?” my mother barks at me in a hushed tone so Daisy doesn’t hear us.
“I’m really not in the mood for a lecture, Mom. I’m going to fix this. Just please don’t say anything about Daphne in front of Daisy.”
I head straight to her apartment, pounding on the door, but there’s no answer. I let myself in, bracing for an empty apartment, but all her stuff still seems to be here.
“Daphne?” I walk in further, calling out for her but there’s no answer. I check her bedroom and bathroom; everything seems normal.
* * *
I twirl my tumbler on my desk as I stare at my phone. Still no response from Daphne. I stand up, pacing my office floor again as I try to figure out who would do this. My immediate thought was Natalie. She’s the only person I know of who knew about me and Daphne. She walked into her classroom one day while we were in there, but how would she have gotten any video or audio recording of us? Unless Rick is bluffing, but I can’t imagine he would threaten me without any sort of actual evidence or what he thought was evidence. He knows I’m way too powerful to just sit back on an idle threat.
Is this blackmail? Is it money he wants?
I sit back down, pulling up the teacher list at Crestwood. I find Preston’s last name, typing it in Google, but nothing is standing out. I rub my eyes. I know they’re bloodshot after staring at this screen for hours. I feel like I’ve failed Daphne but I’m not giving up.
“Think,” I say aloud as I drill my fingers on my desk. Then it hits me. “Steve.” He’s the only person who would have seen us together. I think back on that night when I met him, the way his door was open a sliver, slamming shut after I saw him watching us. “How would he know?” I type in his name and the building but nothing comes up.
What would he have to gain by getting her fired?
I know it wouldn’t take much for him to find out where she worked or maybe she told him in casual conversation.
I give up on that theory for now, instead typing in Rick Fein’s name in hopes there’s some dirt I can dig up to blackmail him with. Everyone has a few skeletons in their closet. I find his social media profile that’s full of photos. I start to click through them, looking at faces and names, none of which stand out to me.
My phone buzzes, the front office of my building calling me. I glance at my watch; it’s nearing ten p.m.
“Hello?”
“Evening, Mr. Vaughn. Apologies for the late call, but you have a visitor. Miss Flowers, should I send her up?”
I jump out of my chair. “Yes, please.” I run my hands through my hair, downing a glass of water and adjusting my shirt before darting to the elevator just as it opens.
“Where have you been?” I don’t mean to shout at her, but I’ve been beyond worried, terrified actually that something happened to her. She looks exhausted. She doesn’t say a word, just walks toward me and right into my arms. “Are you okay, baby? I’ve missed you. I looked everywhere for you; I was so scared.” She doesn’t respond. Her body collapses against me as she cries in my arms for several minutes.
“Oh, baby, it’s okay. It’s going to be okay.”
“No, it’s not. I’ve ruined everything,” she finally says through a broken sob.
“No, you haven’t.” I reach down to hold her face, making her look up at me. "You were scared and hurting, I understand. Wherever you were, whatever happened, it’s in the past. As long as I know you’re safe, that’s all that matters.” I wipe away a few tears that trickle down her cheeks. “Come on, let’s talk in here.” I lead her back to my office and close the door.
“I know about school. I actually just found out today. When did it happen?” I sit on the edge of my desk.
“A week ago. I didn’t know what to do so I went to Florida to be with my dad. I just needed someplace that wasn’t here. I just needed my dad. I turned my phone off. I didn’t even tell Xana where I was until she called my dad.”
“You could have called me. I would have stepped in and helped.”
“I know.” She nods. “I just, I felt like after what I said to you, I didn’t deserve your help. I was also ashamed and in shock honestly. I’ve never been fired or even written up at work and now I’m accused of…” She can’t finish the word, and her face scrunches up as she covers it with her hands.
“I understand,” I say, pulling her toward me again to hold her in my arms.
“It was Natalie, wasn’t it?” I pull back to look down at her. “Have you talked to her?”
“I don’t think it was.” I shake my head.
“It has to be. Nobody else knew or would have a reason to do this. Don’t protect her just because of your past with her.” She’s feeling defensive and I don’t blame her.
