Silence fills the room, heavy and condemning.
The investigator stands. “Mrs. Denison, I don’t believe this is a safe environment for you. You’re not required to stay. Do you have somewhere else you can go?”
“She can stay in our guest house,” Marcus says immediately. “My wife and I have been meaning to have her visit. Loretta, it’s yours as long as you need it.”
“I’ll help move her things,” Vincent adds. “Today. Right now.”
“And I’ll be running this story,” Rhonda says, looking directly at Deacon and Sloan. “Front page. With photos. Unless you take full responsibility and make genuine restitution.”
Three Days Later
Three days later, I sit in Marcus’s downtown office, sunlight streaming through floor-to-ceiling windows, looking at settlement documents.
“They agreed to everything,” Marcus says, sliding papers across his desk. “Full repayment—thirty-three hundred dollars. Coverage of all medical expenses going forward. A formal public apology. A permanent protective order keeping them five hundred feet away unless you initiate contact.”
