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“I’m good,” I say, taking a bite of the toast. “I’m meeting Esme. She’s releasing a special mini-series on her podcast today. We’ve been working on it for a while and we’re expecting some strong reactions. I’ll be with her all day.”
He raises an eyebrow. “What’s the series about?”
“Promise you won’t give me a lecture when I tell you?”
He sighs. “I would never lecture you, Alycia. At least not on purpose. You’re a grown woman and you can make your own decisions whatever they are. I just want you safe and out of trouble. You get that?”
“Got it.”
“So, tell me. What’s the big secret?”
“It’s about Declan.”
He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath, no doubt remembering how he intervened after Declan put his hands on me. Who knows what he would’ve done to me if Raul hadn’t stopped him? “Did he hurt you again?”
“Not me. Not this time,” I tell him, reaching for his hand. “Esme’s been investigating him for months. We’re exposing him for the predator that he is.”
He looks at me, his eyes soft and brown. “You want me to listen to it?”
I nod. “I want you to. I want you to know what he did. But I also want you to see what I did, what I’m doing. I’m fighting back, and I don’t know why, but I want you to be proud of me.”
He squeezes my hand, and his voice is gentle. “Alycia. In May you sat in an equipment room with an ice pack on your neck and told me nobody was ever going to know what he did to you. Today you’re helping tell the whole country what he did to everybody else.”
He lets go of my hand. “Of course I’m proud of you. I’ve been proud of you since the equipment room.”
I blink away tears. I smile, and he smiles back.
“Thank you,” I say.
“It’s the truth,” he says with a shrug, then glances at my plate and frowns. “Eat.”
I laugh, then continue eating my breakfast. We finish, and I go to get dressed.
He sees me off, and I drive to Esme’s place. She lives in a small apartment near downtown.
I walk up the stairs and knock on her door. She opens it, hugs me hello.
“Hey, you ready for today?” she asks.
“I think so,” I say, stepping inside.
Her place is cozy, but there are books, papers, and pictures everywhere. There’s a desk in the living room, with WFH essentials on it. There’s also a couch, a coffee table, and a TV. The kitchen is small, but functional.
“Want some coffee?”
“Sure,” I say, then remember Raul’s fussing. “Do you have decaf?”
She rolls her eyes. “Yes, Alycia. I have decaf.”
We take our coffees to the couch.
“So, the first episode will go live in ten minutes,” she says, checking her phone. “It’s an introduction to the series with some of Kayla’s entries. The next three will be released every two hours, and they’ll have more details and evidence. For the conclusion, I will summarize everything and give my take on it. It’s going to be explosive. I opened a live chat for people to comment as they listen.”
“I’m nervous. What if people don’t believe us? What if they blame us, or shame us, or attack us?”
She puts her hand on my arm. “Hey, don’t worry. We have the truth on our side. I’ve checked every line twice, and so have the lawyers. Let them come.”
I nod, trying to calm down. “You’re right. I’m just not used to this. I’m used to preventing scandals or spinning the story around them to make things look better. I’m not used to helping get the story out.”
