Chapter 10 - The Price of Telling the Truth
The story reached the news. Reporters gathered outside our building, and strangers online decided they knew everything about me. Some called me courageous. Others accused me of chasing a rich man or inventing a kidnapping for money.
I stopped reading the comments after someone posted Mia's college schedule.
Detective Price helped us document the threats. Mia changed her routine. Mom insisted on making dinner anyway, saying that the people who frightened us had already taken too much of our lives.
At a preliminary hearing, I described the dining room, the accusation, and the moment Evelyn touched the bracelet. Vanessa watched me from across the courtroom without expression.
Her attorney asked whether I had become romantically involved with Luca.
“No,” I said.
“Have you received money from him?”
“My wages. For work I performed.”
The attorney suggested that my testimony was motivated by resentment. I answered each question slowly and stayed with what I had seen.
Outside, Luca waited near the courthouse steps. He did not touch me or make a speech.
“You were clear,” he said.
“I was terrified.”
May you like
“Both can be true.”
For the first time, I believed he understood something about my world.
