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the printed pictures. She’s concentrating on something specific.
“I may have something!” she yells, scurrying to her feet. She turns the picture of her look alike to us and points to the windows in the background. “Look! There’s an image in the windows, it’s the photographer. At first, it looks like a pedestrian but when I looked closer, there’s a camera at his side.
Jake snaps the picture out of her hand and looks closely, then goes to his laptop and blows the image up. Sure enough, we can’t get a face shot, but the man’s profile is easy to see. I recognize him immediately as one of the workers in the factory. The tattoo that adorns his neck is on display. I tell them we can find him easily through company files.
“Shit, woman, good call,” Jake says and Stella grins shyly.
“We’re not there yet, let’s talk.” Chris says solemnly.
We all sit down and I tug Stella in my lap. Her body is tense, but she leans into me for support.
“This is what I think. We know the evidence the officials in South America have and that they’re looking into these allegations. Stella is going to deny everything, but the pictures are harmful. They question her character. Now with thirty-five thousand dollars being deposited today through an unmarked account that is another strike against her. You thought fast and smart, Max, but the money’s going to come into play. Also, it’s three young girls word against hers. I don’t know how these guys will operate, but if it were on U.S. soil it would get ugly. Stella will be guilty until proven innocent. We need to come up with a plan now.”
“Shit,” Jake hisses looking at his computer. “Complete and full investigation has been opened. According to my boss, our contacts in South America got word that the local police in the area are going to announce it tomorrow.”
“They’re going to want to talk to Stella aren’t they?” Chris asks.
“Yeah, probably soon.”
“We need to act fast. Whom do we have that can question the guy taking the pictures, maybe even find the woman dressed as Stella. If we can prove it wasn’t Stella that should buy us some time. Also, we need to discredit the girls. They’re lying for a reason. We need to find that reason. It’s most likely monetary, but whatever it is, we need to prove they’ve been bribed,” I tell the room.
“I can do it. My boss won’t want to see years of investigating Edward Hurst go down in an obvious cover up. Besides JOS, we have other federal corruption charges. We’re not going to let his sorry ass use Stella as a distraction,” Jake adds.
“I’ll have my jet ready on Sunday morning. You’ll be given full access to the company files and financials. Anything you need, you have. You’re the only one I trust on this.”
He nods and starts typing.
Chris stares at me, our thoughts the same. I hate to do it but I have to warn her.
“Stella, we need to tell you something.”
“This is about to be public isn’t it?” Her voice barely audible.
“Yeah, babe, in my experience with international law, once the investigation is open, the news has access. They never have the whole story, but they release the headlines anyway. With Hurst & McCoy being a global group, they will pick up on it. We need to get some statements ready.”
She sits up and looks around the room with tears in her eyes. But she inhales deeply and determination sets in. “I need to know one thing. When you fucking nail Edward Hurst, can I have two minutes alone with him in a private room? No cameras, no microphones, no witnesses?”
Jake and Chris both smile widely and Mom snickers.
“We may be able to arrange that, off the record of course,” Jake answers her.
“Okay, I’m going to make some calls to tell my friends and family what’s about to happen. Then I’ll prepare some press releases. I’m not sure what good it will do, but I’ll call my closest clients and tell them as well. They’ll believe what they want, but they deserve to hear it from me. Then we are all going to bed for at least four hours. Tonight, Max is cooking and we drink copious amounts of alcohol. I want to forget this. I need to forget this.”
“You’re fucking amazing,” I say unashamed. She’s about to possibly lose her career and any credibility she has and her head is one hundred percent in the game.
Everyone agrees with her and we spread out. I asked Mom to call my brothers and Dana so I could work closely with Chris on his strategy. Stella calls her parents first and explains what is going on. I hear her cry a little but then she gets pissed. Her screaming fills the house and I smile to myself. There’s my fiery girl. Chris and Jake both chuckle and shake their heads. After another hour, it’s obvious that Laci knows because Marshall Barnes calls my cell.
“Max, what are you doing about this?” he barks in greeting.
I tell him the plan we’ve come up with and his anger continues to radiate through the line. Even with my attempts to appease his worry, he doesn’t back down. He speaks the words to me I’ve been afraid to let myself think.
“Son, there’s a good chance she’ll never recover from this professionally. I’ve watched her grow up and chase her dreams. She’s damn good at what she does, but even with all the support behind her, she’ll never be able to run from being associated with child solicitation. It’s like a Scarlett letter. She may be giving you a brave face, but inside she’s crushed. Let’s hope your plan works before she’s persecuted in the public eye.” Without another word he hangs up, leaving me deflated.
Chris must have heard him through the phone because he give me a shoulder squeeze and leaves the table.
Thoughts run through my head of how selfish I am to bring Stella into this. If I’d left her alone, she’d be safe. But my life without her doesn’t make sense. It has no purpose anymore. She’s become the reason I wake up to a new day. Just being in her presence is an honor. She says she loves me, but does she really know how much I love her? Is this the price of loving me? Losing everything she worked so hard for? Even if I forced her away, she’d always have a target on her back with Edward knowing how much I care about her.
“Hey,” her gentle voice soothes me and I lean into her side. She runs her hands through my hair and massages my scalp lightly. “You okay?”
