Behind me, he curses me loudly. “You have no idea what you’re playing at.”
I look again for Maggie. Understanding dawns on her face. It’s not a press conference. It’s an ambush.
“Everyone here today has been abused by Zebulund. And we’re all here to stop that from happening again. Who’d like to go first?”
A woman in the front row steps forward—she already has a microphone in her hands.
“I was eighteen and Marty told me to go to his trailer. It’s been years since he made me touch him, but I’ve never forgotten.” She turns around to Maggie, who stands with her hands over her mouth. “Thank you for giving me courage. I went to the police this morning.”
Another woman comes forth and shares a similar story. Each one of them thanks Maggie. Each one of them filed a police report. Zebulund can make an accusation here or there go away, but it’s a lot harder to sweep several dozen under the rug.
As each woman speaks, the camera records them.
“This is ridiculous,” Zebulund whispers into my ear, still calm. “You think this little show is going to do anything? You have no idea how deep my influence goes. You’ve ruined your life and anybody you’ve ever cared about.”
“I know what it feels like to lose everything. I’m not worried.” I glance at Maggie, who’s in the center of a crowd of women, and a few men, who talk to her about their pain. She’s lost in a sea of tears and hugs and confessions.
Zebulund’s threats go on, but my eyes never leave her. Viktor steps forward and her shock is visible.
“I’m so sorry,” he says. “I was scared shitless. You’re so brave. You didn’t deserve that.” He glances toward us. His brows furrow. “I’m done living in fear. I’m done.”
She hugs him after he shares his story. Zebulund takes the microphone.
“These accusations are absolutely not true.” To his credit, he keeps his cool. No dramatic confessions and sweeping speeches about how they all deserve it. “I’ll be filing lawsuits for slander and emotional distress against each and every one of you.”
He could probably get away with it too. He could probably contest each one of these reports and somehow get away with it all.
“This is ridiculous.” Zebulund sweeps past me but pauses to say one last thing. “You’re ruined. You have no fucking clue what you’ve done.”
He’s still smiling and he says it so low that only I can hear him. I look past him and to Nancy.
“Let’s go.” He tugs on her wrist
But Nancy doesn’t move. At least not toward him. Instead, she breaks out of his grasp with a firm tug and stands in front of the podium. It’s the most clear-headed I’ve seen her in our brief acquaintance. Her voice is so soft when she first speaks that she’s almost unheard over the crowd.
“What are you doing? Come here.” For the first time, Zebulund loses his cool. His eyes flick wildly to her and then the cameras.
She clears her throat and the crowd stops talking.
“My name is Nancy Zebulund. I met Marty when I was sixteen. That was the first time I told him ‘no.’” Her voice shakes but gains momentum. “It’s been thirty years since then. A cycle of me saying ‘no’ and him pushing me further.”
Zebulund is statue-still as he watches his life unravel.
“Two years ago I discovered a reporter who gave me hope. Her stories made me think this town could change. She had the strength and courage I did not. Maggie May thank you for being a light in the darkness.”
I didn’t think Maggie could look any more surprised. The two women hold each other’s stares as though it’s just the two of them.
“My cowardice ends now. I will go to the police for the rapes.” Nancy pauses and nods once with determination. “And for everything else. I’ve had the power to stop him for years, but I was… I didn’t.” She lifts her chin before facing him. “You’re done hurting people.”
Two LAPD officers step out of my house and handcuff Zebulund.
“You’ll regret this,” he says to the world. One of the officers reads him his rights. “What am I being arrested for?”
“Numerous counts of rape,” the first man says.
“Obstruction of justice,” the other continues. “Blackmail. Money laundering. Planting false evidence. Embezzlement.”
“It’s a long list. But don’t worry, we’ll go over them all.”
