I moved closer to the window, pressing my hand against the glass.
The banner at the bottom of the screen read,Lightkeeper's Hearthkeeper Exposed: Ember Harrison, Formerly Amber Hensley."
No. No, no, no.
My mind whirled and I glanced around, hoping no one was watching this, but who was I kidding?
The screen switched to footage of me walking through the hospital parking lot, then back to the old photos.
A reporter's voice narrated, though I couldn't hear the words through the glass. But I didn't need to hear them.
I could see the images they were showing—the college campus, the apartment building where I'd lived in San Diego, a photo of Brad with his arm around me, both of us smiling.
After two years of hiding, after changing my name and moving across the country, they'd connected Amber Hensley to Ember Harrison.
Which meant they knew about the video too and the scandal that had destroyed my life in California.
I stumbled backward from the window, breathing too fast.
People on the sidewalk had stopped to watch me with expressions ranging from curiosity to disgust.
Someone held up a phone, recording.
A camera flash went off inches from my face.
Someone grabbed my arm, and I yanked it away.
The crowd pressed closer, bodies surrounding me, voices getting louder.
"Let me through!" I pushed, using my shoulders to create space, and started to weave my way past people who thought it was okay to hedge me in.
The voices blended together into noise, accusations and questions and laughter all mixing until I couldn't distinguish individual words.
Or maybe my mind was just racing too quickly, because God knows my heart was beating too fast. I felt lightheaded.
I finally broke through the edge of the crowd and started walking faster, fumbling to get my phone out and order an Uber.
My legs felt weak, my breath coming in gasps, but I didn't stop until I reached a corner far away from those laughing voices.
I couldn't stop seeing those images on the television screens of my younger self, smiling and unaware of what was coming.
And now everyone knew Ember Harrison was Amber Hensley.
The scandal I'd run from had finally caught up to me, and this time, there was nowhere left to hide.
24
NATE
The board meeting was going better than I'd expected.
We'd made it through the budget projections without major objections, approved the staffing plan for the new pediatric wing, and were now discussing the hospital's involvement in the Christmas children's program.
The atmosphere felt warmer than it had in months, and the twelve board members seated around the table seemed engaged rather than combative.
I stood at the head of the table, reviewing the presentation slides on the screen behind me.
The program had been a hospital tradition for fifteen years, bringing toys and books to pediatric patients who would be spending the holidays in the hospital.
