Page 85 of Never Forget

Scott shrugs. “I don’t care about that. He’s clearly obsessed with the four of you, wants to prove that you’re bad people or something. The way he talks, it’s almost like he’s speaking from experience. Maybe a jilted ex-lover, or if it’s someone on the inside, maybe a current or previous employee that was dismissed or⁠—”

I lock eyes with Cory. “Francis.”

He cocks an eyebrow. “Francis went back to Florida months ago after he was turned down for a position with our label’s competitors. Legal sent him a letter reminding him of the stipulations of the contract he signed in exchange for them not pursuing more serious charges. Nobody’s heard from him since.”

“Francis? As in your old manager, Francis?”

“I think I might have seen him.” I glance at Scott. “It’s why I walked away earlier today while you were in the locker facility. This guy passed by, and something about him caught my attention. He was dressed super weird, and then I overheard him say something about a dumb meathead security guard. When I looked around, he was walking away, so I couldn’t see his face. Something about him seemed really familiar, so I followed him.”

“You think it could have been Francis?” Cory asks, sounding a little skeptical.

“I can’t say for sure. All I know is that I thought about him when I noticed the man walking by. His cologne and the way he walked stood out, but I lost him in the crowd when those girls found me.”

“You said he was dressed weird. Was he wearing a long coat and a hat?”

“Yeah. It struck me as weird because it’s summer, even in the rain it’s too hot to wear a coat like that. And Francis wore fedoras.”

“I saw someone like that inside the locker facility, in one of the security mirrors.”

I turn back to Cory, my heart racing with a mix of trepidation and excitement. We might be on to something. “It’s possible it could be him. He definitely would have a reason to hate us.”

“What else did he say?” Cory asks Scott.

“He was trying to convince me that the band, Naz specifically, doesn’t care about me. He said he was going to prove it.”

“How?”

“He didn’t specify. I told him I was done, that I wouldn’t help him anymore, and he said I already gave him everything he needs. Those were his exact words, ‘You already gave me everything I need,’ and then he hung up.”

“So this guy, possibly Francis, somehow gets that recording and thinks he can use it against you,” Cory says, thinking out loud.

It feels like there’s a vice around my lungs, like my ribcage is too small to contain all the organs I need to keep living and functioning. “To prove he’s disposable. He thinks that if it looks like Scott released that recording, we’ll think he betrayed us.”

“I still feel like I did betray you,” Scott admits. “If I hadn’t already been fired today, you can’t tell me that this wouldn’t be the straw that breaks the camel’s back.”

Cory huffs. “You aren’t fired, dumbass. Not really. But this does provide us with another opportunity…

“You have to be kidding me.”

“Actually, I think he’s right,” I say, grabbing Scott’s hand. “If there’s one thing I know about Francis, it’s that he always has to be right. If he thinks the label fired you and I left you behind, he might be dumb enough to gloat.”

“Or think he’s truly convinced you to be on his side,” Cory adds.

Scott holds my gaze for a long, drawn out minute. “I’ll do anything you want.”

My lips twitch. “Anything? Get down on all fours and bark like a dog?”

“You give the command.”

TWENTY-TWO

SCOTT

The rush of relief I feel the moment the door clicks shut behind Cory almost makes me feel ashamed. Despite being unhappy with me, to put it lightly, he’s not actually advocating for me to be fired. Instead, he’s working with me to use the mess I’ve gotten myself in to bring an end to this bullshit.

I’m tired. It’s been a long day, and there’s an even longer night coming when we’ll attempt to root out and expose Francis, or whoever our bad guy might be. All of us are banking on Naz’s gut feeling being correct, but it really does make the most sense. He has a motive, knows people inside the label headquarters, and from what I understand, is absolutely the type to carry out a vendetta against people he feels have wronged him.

Naz’s voice sing-songs behind me. “Hey Scott… Look what I found.”