I told the police that I hadn’t seen my attacker, and I went to recuperate at the beautiful @HuntRanchResort, where slowly, I began to feel safe again.
… Until Alexander Cane tracked me down there two weeks into my month-long stay.
He arrived at Hunt Ranch after a photo was leaked online, revealing my location. He threatened me. And it was only after I told him that I was filing a police report that Alexander decided to file his own assault allegations. Fake ones.
I thought that nothing would be worse than the trauma of that initial assault. But I was wrong. It is far more painful to be accused of the very crime that happened to me – and by none other than my perpetrator.
However, I am committed to seeking justice. My legal team and I are working to clear my name and reveal the truth.
I appreciate the love and support from my fans and community during this difficult time.
To myShadowlandscolleagues … ‘Sorry’ doesn’t come close. I’m absolutely devastated. We all worked so hard …
I don’t know what’s going to happen. But I do know that I’m refusing to settle. Because if I walk away, I absolutely believe that one day soon another woman will be living the hell I’m currently living. And I refuse to let that happen.
Still, I ask that you please respect my privacy as I navigate this difficult process from here in LA. I am sad and tired, but I am also resolute and strong. I have to believe that the truth will prevail.
Thank you for standing by me.
With love,
Nina
Mav’s heart ached. ‘Fuck, I should be there,’ he said. Because he could imagine Nina as she sat down and struggled to put her pain into words. He could imagine her braving the after-effects, and even though it comforted him to know that she had Markus, he wanted to be the one to hold her, to comfort her. Because it hurt him every time she hurt.
‘Most of these comments are supportive,’ Sierra pointed out. She smiled. ‘Markus’s comment is pinned. It says, “@KingCane, I hope you currently feel the fear I felt listening to you assault my girl over the phone.”’
‘Did he post anything – Alexander Cane?’
Sierra clicked through to @KingCane’s profile. ‘He’s made his account private. That’s good.’
‘It is?’
‘Fuck yeah. It means he’s being torn a new asshole by her fanbase.’
‘Good.’ Mav nodded.
‘Okay, so I’m going to use an app to share Nina’s post. And I’m going to copy and paste that link into your bio.’
‘Thanks.’
Sierra paused. She cackled like a hyena.
‘What?’ Mav asked.
‘Nina followed you back.’
It was the stupidest thing in the world for him to feel a little more connected with her because of it – but he did. So he’d be grateful. ‘Okay.’
‘No … You don’t get it. She only follows forty-five people. And she has threemillionfollowers, which means …’ She angled the phone for him to see the screen, pulled down the page to refresh it. The ‘Followers’ number jumped up by two thousand people immediately. She did it again. This time, it jumped by five thousand.
‘You’ll be Instafamous by the end of the day, Mav,’ she prophesied, and passed him back his phone. ‘Make sure you post Markus’s professional photos on there. It’ll give Hunt Ranch bookings a huge boost.’
‘Maybe a few that don’t feature us,’ he said, but only because he knew Sierra worked hard on the ranch’s marketing and advertising. ‘But I didn’t do this for us. I did it for her. So she knows …’
Sierra looked at him for a long moment. ‘You know, I don’t think I’ve ever said this to you before, but I’m really proud of the person you are, Mav. And Mom and Dad would be, too.’
‘Yeah.’ But he pulled her in for a hug, knowing that she had her own demons to battle. ‘Of both of us.’
