She laughs, the sound sharp and brittle. "Of course. Of course the mighty Jade Sinclair wouldn't recognize me." Her face twists with contempt. "Why would you? I was nothing to you, even as you took everything from me."
I study her face more carefully, searching for something familiar in her features. There's a faint resemblance to someone, but I can't quite place it. "I'm sorry, I don't..."
"Becky," she spits out. "Becky Mercer. Charles's daughter."
The name hits me like a physical blow. Charles. My first manager. My abuser.
"You remember my father now, don't you?" she continues, watching my reaction with savage satisfaction. "The man whose life you destroyed."
"Becky," I whisper, memories flooding back. The girl who once was part of my makeshift family. My abuser’s daughter. She lived with her mother and would only occasionally visit. Once I got out of that situation I never heard from her again. We weren’t exactly friends and I didn’t want any reminders of that part of my life.
"Why are you doing this?"
Her grip tightens on the gun. "You took him from me. First his attention, then his career, then his life."
"No, that's not..."
"When he found you," she interrupts, pacing now but keeping the gun trained on me, "you became his whole world. His precious discovery. His 'most beautiful girl in the world.'" She mimics the phrase with vicious sarcasm. "Suddenly, being with his daughter wasn't a priority anymore. Why bother when he had his perfect little doll to play with?"
While she'd been jealous of the attention her father gave me, I'd been suffering the worst kind of abuse at his hands.
"Becky," I say carefully, "your father... he wasn't who you think he was."
"Shut up!" she snaps. "He was a good man! A brilliant agent who discovered real talent, who worked tirelessly to build careers. And you..." her voice cracks, "You fired him, blacklisted him, destroyed everything he'd built."
"I was fourteen," I say quietly. "When he started abusing me."
"Lies!" she shouts, the gun shaking in her hand. "All lies! You were jealous. Greedy. Wanted more money, more fame. He made you, and you threw him away like garbage!"
"Is that why you've been stalking me? The messages, the break-ins, the threats?"
She smiles, a cold, satisfied curl of the lips. "Three months of watching you unravel. Watching you doubt everyone." Her voice drops to a venomous whisper. "Watchingyou make those men fall for you, only to toss them out like you did my father. Used, broken, and disposable."
"Your father overdosed because of his own demons, Becky," I say, my voice gentle but firm. "Not because of me."
"He would never have touched drugs if you hadn't ruined him!" She's shouting now, her face flushed with anger. "Everything was fine until you came along. Everything!"
The ringing of my phone cuts through her tirade. We both freeze, staring at the device on the coffee table.
Mateo's name flashes on the screen like a heartbeat I forgot I had. Of all people, of course it would be him. Calling at the exact moment when hearing his voice would be both salvation and torture.
Becky's eyes narrow. "Answer it," she snaps. "Otherwise your sick little love puppy will come knocking. And if you say one word about me, I'll shoot you before he gets through the door."
With trembling fingers, I pick up the phone and swipe to accept the call.
He exhales like he's been holding his breath for days.
"Jade?" Mateo's voice is a lifeline I can't grab. "Listen, we need to talk... There's something you need to know..."
"No! I need you to listen to me," I cut in, locking eyes with Becky.
I take a breath. I go still inside.
"Like I said before...this is over." I pause, choosing my next words carefully. "If you're unconvinced that a particular plan of action I've decided is the wisest, tell me so."
A pause.
He doesn't speak. But I feel him listening. Really listening.
