She Came Back to Burn Them All

03

Dirk Henson sat slumped behind his desk, his face white as paper.

I reached back, locked the door, and crossed to stand in front of him.

"You gave her the ride after all?"

His lips trembled. For a long moment nothing came out.

"Sara, I…"

"Tell me the truth!"

I slammed my hand flat on the desk.

He jolted, and his eyes went red at the rims.

"She was working late last night, standing down there all alone, and it was pouring outside."

"She said after you snapped at her last time, she was too scared to sleep for days, didn't dare bother me again."

"I saw her out there shivering in the cold, and I just felt bad."

"And it was hailing that night. There was no way to get a cab."

I stared him down.

"So behind my back, you let her get in your car?"

His head came up fast, both hands waving.

"I swear I really was only being kind and dropping her partway home!"

"After she got in, out of nowhere she confessed to me on the road, said she liked mature, steady men like me."

"I turned her down right then!"

"I pulled over to the side of the road, got out, and had a cigarette to let her cool off in the car."

"I didn't lay a finger on her!"

I was so furious I laughed, and the laugh made his skin crawl.

"Sara, you don't believe your own father?"

Right then something slammed hard against the office door from outside.

The security captain's voice came through, frantic.

"Mr. Henson! Miss Henson! The lobby downstairs is out of control!"

"Hundreds of livestreamers and reporters poured in out of nowhere and jammed the front doors solid!"

I drew in a slow breath.

Last life's hell had come after all.

Only this time, it was somebody else's turn to write the script.

The whole lobby was packed wall to wall.

Cameras of every size, phones on stands, all of it aimed at us in a dense thicket.

The flashes were so bright I could barely keep my eyes open.

Dead center of the lobby, Wanda Harding sat in a wheelchair, wrapped in a thick blanket.

Two big, thickset men flanked her on either side, playing the part of righteous protectors.

The moment Dirk stepped out, every lens whipped toward him.

"Mr. Henson, do you admit to abusing your position to assault an intern?"

"Ms. Henson, did you know your father had these sick tendencies?"

Dirk stood behind me, his whole body rigid, and whispered in my ear, "Sara, why don't we just bow our heads and pay her off first?"

"Whatever it costs, as long as it makes this go away."

As if she'd heard his whisper, Wanda lifted her head at exactly that moment.

She tugged down her mask, dabbing at her tears with a tissue, sobbing straight into the nearest lens.

"I don't want money."

"I'd rather starve than take a cent of your filthy money!"

"All I ask is that Mr. Henson resign in disgrace and step aside for someone worthy."

"A man with morals this rotten can't be left in charge of all those innocent women who work here."

One of the female livestreamers instantly thrust her mic higher and shouted into her phone.

"You hear that, everyone?"

"This is the ugly face of the rich and powerful!"

"A young girl fresh out of school, full of hope for her future, driven to this point, and they still try to insult her with money!"

A male streamer led the chant.

"Step down!"

"Lock him up!"

The whole room erupted.

Someone had linked one of the lobby's display screens to a livestream, and vicious comments scrolled up the full screen at high speed.

【Dirk Henson should kill himself to atone!】

【May the old bastard rot!】

【Protect Wanda, never back down!】

Dirk shrank back a step.

I heard the faint whimper come up out of his throat.

Last life, this was the exact moment he'd started to break.

Right then, a shrill, wailing cry cut through from the back of the crowd.

"Dirk Henson!"

The crowd split apart.

My stepmother, Rowena Galloway, came stumbling through.

The instant she reached the ring of cameras, she said nothing, just swung her arm back full force.

Crack!

The slap landed hard across Dirk's face.

The whole room went off like a bomb.

He clutched his cheek, frozen where he stood.

"Rowena, you're hitting me?"

She was crying so hard she could barely breathe.

"Hitting you is getting off easy!"

"How could you do something lower than an animal!"

"All these years married to you, I put up with every bit of your carousing out there, for the sake of this family!"

"But how old is she?"

"She's only two years older than Sara!"

"She's just a child. How could you bring yourself to touch her!"

Wanda played her part without a seam, throwing herself down at once to wrap her arms around Rowena's legs, crying even louder.

"Ma'am, I'm sorry."

"I shouldn't have blown this up, shouldn't have let you find out any of it."

"I've torn your family apart. It's my fault!"

Rowena crouched down, gathered Wanda into her arms, and stroked her hair, aching for her.

"Good girl, it isn't your fault."

"All the wrong is on that animal."