Page 101 of What Comes Around

The clip jumped.

“Is it true that your mother is in jail?” the host asked.

“Yes.”

Another quick cut.

“Is it true your sister stole your boyfriend before?”

Apple’s expression turned sad, wounded, almost fragile—then the video cut away before she could answer.

Text appeared across the screen.

FULL EPISODE DROPS IN TWO DAYS.

My eyes widened. “What is this?”

“Apple went on that podcast,” Amy said. “They have forty million followers. The reach is insane.”

I leaned back and looked out the window at the people rushing down the street. “She’ll make me the villain.”

“Very likely,” Amy said. “But we won’t know until it comes out.”

We sat in silence for a moment. Then Amy shifted the conversation.

“I heard from the shelter,” she said. “The women they rescued are getting help. Medical care and counseling.”

Relief settled in my chest.

“If they need more funding,” I said, “I’ll invest.”

Amy smiled faintly. “I knew you’d say that.”

We talked about other things for a while, letting the conversation drift to random gossip. At one point Amy’s phone buzzed, and she glanced at the screen before smirking.

“By the way, do you remember those five guys from high school?”

I frowned. “The guys from high school?”

“The wannabe rapists.”

“What about them?”

“One of them just got accepted into some fancy leadership program. Big press release, lots of inspirational quotes about ‘growth’ and ‘second chances’.”

She took a sip of her iced latte, looking far too pleased with herself.

“So I sent the organizers an anonymous tip about what he did,” she continued. “Attached screenshots. Names. Dates. Everything. They dropped him within an hour.”

I blinked. “You still keep tabs on them?”

“Of course,” she said.

I stared at her. “You are terrifying.”

“Thank you,” she said sweetly. “Every time one of them achieves something, gets a job, finds a girlfriend… I send anonymous reminders of their past. I make sure they never forget. Mommy and Daddy bought them out of jail, but they don’t get to escape me.”

She leaned back, satisfied with herself, and her gaze drifted across the table. Then it landed on my wrist.