Chapter 228

An hour later, Logan and I sat in Dylan’s office. Dylan was at his desk, scribbling notes down on a notepad. Mabel leaned against the wall near the window, rubbing at her forehead like she had a headache brewing.

“So you suspect she didn’t actually commit the crime,” Dylan said.

“Steal a million dollars without my grandfather noticing right away?” Logan scoffed. “There isn’t a chance in hell. He personally checks every decimal point in every deposit or investment. A penny doesn’t shift around in his accounts without him knowing about it.

“This is entirely a set up. Grandfather kidnapped Hazel and then I went to get her. No one stopped me. This woman even unlocked the door for me. Now Grandfather’s getting his revenge.”

“I’ll help her as best I can,” Dylan said. “But likely, she’s already seven lawyers deep. Senior doesn’t mess around. He’s going to gaslight and manipulate her. Even if I offer my services, she might not take it.”

“She helped us,” Logan said. “She shouldn’t need to suffer for it.” He shook his head. “She said Grandfather had changed from how he once was. I think she only wanted the best for her.”

“I’ll talk to her,” Dylan said. “Or I’ll try to. I can’t make her see me if she refuses.”

“Even so,” Mabel said, stepping away from the wall. “We may be able to spin this to our advantage.”

“How?” I asked.

“We float the idea with the press that this is a false arrest,” Mabel replied. “Mr. Hatfield Senior meant this as a scare tactic, that we know. So we push that narrative forward.”

“It could drive people into hiding,” Dylan said.

“Or it could be the last straw. Senior is coming for them one way or another. Maybe they will see that it’s time to step forward and come clean.”

“It’s a gamble,” Dylan said.

“Either they weren’t going to talk to us anyway, or they might,” Mabel countered. “We don’t really have anything to lose in this game.”

Logan listened quietly to Mabel. Then he said to Dylan, “Don’t do anything you will regret. We can let this go, and I wouldn’t blame you for it.”

“No,” Dylan said. Looking down at his notes, he exhaled. “Senior keeps pushing the envelope to see how far it can go. If we let him, he’ll only go farther. We need to stop this now.”

“I can get you a press conference tonight,” Mabel said to Dylan. “Logan. Hazel. I suggest you two go home and not be involved. Dylan. You up for this?”

“Been a while since I’ve spread my mug around on camera,” he said. His disposition lightened suddenly. Even knowing him as well as I did, I couldn’t tell if he was faking the sudden brightness or if he was genuinely excited by the challenge of it all.

“I’ll make the call,” Mabel said.

Later, Logan and I watched as Dylan stepped up out of his office onto the curb, where a slew of reporters with microphones and cameras surrounded him.

He laid the charm on thick, appearing both confident and approachable. His smile was disarming.

“I have reason to suspect that Mr. Hatfield Senior’s assistant was falsely accused,” Dylan said. “We’ve seen this type of scare tactic used before, all throughout our modern history. For as long as the legal system has existed, there have been those thinking they can manipulate it to fulfill their own selfish desires.”

“Dylan!” one of the reporters shouted. “Are you accusing Mr. Hatfield Senior of attempting to –”

“I’m not directly accusing anyone, let’s be clear,” Dylan said, smoothly bypassing a question that could land him in his own hot water for liable. “What I am saying is, if this is happening to you, don’t hesitate to reach out to me. There’s no big bad too scary for my firm to take on. Don’t let yourself be caught up in other people’s ambitions.”

“He’s good at this,” I told Logan.

“Do you think I’d have anyone but the best as my lawyer?”

“And your best friend,” I said. Things had been tumultuous between them for a time, when I had some entanglements of my own with Dylan. Hurt feels spread all around. Jealous. Misunderstandings.

I’d hoped we had put it all behind us, given how close most of us are now, but I was never really sure.

“And my best friend,” he agreed, and I knew now, for certain, that the arguments of the past were just that.

The next day, Logan and I accepted Mabel, the beautiful anchorwoman from the news, and a camera crew into our apartment.

The newscaster’s name was Susan Willman, a well known reporter whose been in the business for longer than one might expect. She was much older than she generally appeared.

With enough makeup and, I suspect, plastic surgery, she’s kept her face young everywhere but around the eyes. It wasn’t noticeable on camera, but now that I’m face to face with her, the difference is a bit unnerving, giving her almost an otherworldly kind of look.

She’s professional though, and kind enough with a toothy smile, so I keep my untoward opinions firmly to myself.

“Are you ready?” she asked me.

I wasn’t. At all.

“I just need a minute. I’ll be right back.”

With that, I dart up the stairs and hide in the bedroom. I felt kind of like the walls are closing in on me. I knew we agreed to do this interview, and even I could see it was likely to do more good than bad in the future.

But it was still nerve-racking. They were asking us to air all of our old, dirty laundry for everyone to see.

Somethings I wanted to stay hidden.

Some memories I wasn’t ready to revisit.

Logan sneaked into the bedroom while I stood there, staring at the floor. I heard his familiar footsteps trekking over the carpet.

He didn’t ask me if I was alright. He must have already known the answer. Instead, he stepped into the space behind me, wrapped his arms around my waist, and buried his face in the corner of my neck and shoulder.

“You are going to be okay,” he said. “We’re going to be okay.”

“I don’t know if I’m ready, or if I’ll ever be ready, for the world to know what happened in our pasts,” I admitted. “Our beginnings weren’t pretty, Logan. That Vegas wedding, we were drunk…”

“Drunk or no, I was right about you.”

“Then you thought I was my sister.”

Logan’s arms squeezed tighter around me. “A mistake I regret. She is nothing like you.”

“We fumbled so much… It took us so long to even know we were married.”

“None of that matters,” he said.

Slowly, he turned me in his arms to face him. I looked up at him with wide vulnerable eyes. I was scared, but he met my fear with his own steady confidence. It smoothed my ruffled nerves like a balm.

“Logan…”

“We survived everything else, Hazel. Our past may have been difficult, but everything we’ve suffered has led us to this exact moment, where we can face these things together.”

He was right. I knew he was right.

“All of our ups and downs leads to this right here,” he said and kissed me. “We can do this, Hazel. Believe in yourself. Believe in me.”

I did. Fully and completely.

“Okay,” I said at last. “I’m ready to share our story.”