Casper stepped forward, his presence suddenly more imposing as he moved into Trevor's personal space. "The lady said no. I think it's time for you to move along."
Trevor's eyes flicked to Casper, taking in his size and obvious physical capability. But instead of backing down, thephotographer seemed to assess him with professional interest. "And you are?"
"Someone who takes Ms. Thorton's privacy very seriously," Casper replied evenly. "I suggest you respect her wishes."
For a moment, tension crackled between the two men. Then Trevor lowered his camera and held up his hands in a gesture of mock surrender. "No need for hostility. I'm just doing my job, same as you."
He turned back to Willow, his expression shifting to something harsher. "You know, Willow, I've been keeping an eye on entertainment news. I have a feeling your parents would be more than happy to sit down with me. If you ever need someone who understands how this industry works, someone who's been documenting your story from the beginning..."
"Thank you, but I have everything handled," Willow said firmly, her hand briefly touching Casper's arm in a gesture that felt both grateful and possessive.
Trevor nodded slowly, but his eyes remained calculating. "Well, you know how to reach me if you change your mind. The offer for the documentary interview stands indefinitely."
As they walked toward the hotel elevators, Casper mentally cataloged everything about Trevor Ashworth. The man's equipment was top-quality and expensive, making it exactly the kind of sophisticated gear that could facilitate long-range surveillance. His familiarity with Willow's personal history and his self-appointed role as her "story's protector" raised immediate red flags.
Most concerning was the photographer's claim to have been "keeping an eye" on news about her. Trevor Ashworth had just elevated himself to primary suspect status in Casper's assessment.
"Old friend?" Casper asked as the elevator doors closed behind them.
Willow's laugh held no humor. "More like a persistent shadow from my past. Trevor was one of the more aggressive paparazzi during my teenage years, especially during my... difficult period. He always claimed he was different from the others, that he was documenting my journey rather than exploiting it."
"And you believed him?"
"I wanted to believe him," she admitted. "When you're seventeen and having what amounts to a public breakdown, anyone who claims they're on your side feels like a lifeline. But looking back, I think Trevor was just better at justifying his behavior to himself."
The elevator chimed softly as they reached their floor. "He mentioned your parents. That doesn't sound like someone who's moved on from documenting your story."
Willow was quiet for a moment as they walked down the carpeted hallway toward their suite. "No," she said finally. "It doesn't, does it?"
As Casper swiped the key card and held the door open for her, he was already mentally composing another message to the LSIMT team. Trevor Ashworth, as well as Max Sterling, had both just become their most promising leads, and Casper intended to find out everything there was to know about the photographer's and ex-boyfriend’s recent activities and current whereabouts.
The coincidences were piling up too neatly to ignore, and in Casper's experience, that usually meant they weren't coincidences at all.
16
Back in their suite, Willow collapsed onto the plush sofa with an exhausted sigh, her head falling back against the cushions as the day's accumulated tension finally caught up with her. The confrontation with Trevor in the lobby had left her more unsettled than she'd wanted to admit, dredging up memories of feeling constantly hunted and exposed during her most vulnerable years.
She could hear Casper's fingers moving across his tablet with methodical precision, and when she lifted her head to look at him, she found him seated in the chair facing her, his dark eyes focused intently on the screen. His expression was unreadable, but something in the set of his shoulders suggested he was compiling information she might not want to hear.
"I want to ask what you're working on," she said finally, "but I'm afraid of what the answer might be."
A rueful expression crossed his face as his lips tightened, and he nodded slowly. "I think you've got some genuinely good people in your life, Willow, and that doesn't surprise me. You're a sincere, very real person in an industry where that's a rarity. And that makes you valuable.”
"Valuable?" She sat up straight, her gaze pinned on him.
"Valuable as a friend. Your attorney, for instance. I assume Christopher probably handles many of the biggest entertainment names in this city, but I could tell by the way he looked at you and talked to you that he considers you family."
A warm, gooey feeling spread through her chest, and she smiled with genuine affection. "You're absolutely right. Christopher has always had my best interests at heart, even when I was too young to understand what that meant. I've always thought of him as my protector. He made sure my trust funds were properly managed, my contracts were airtight, and no one took advantage of me. He's been doing that since I was about five years old."
"It's interesting that he started representing you so young, especially since your parents would have been in control at that time."
"I think they chose Christopher because he had such a prestigious reputation in the industry. But he's told me since that he took one look at me and one look at my parents, and decided he wanted to represent my interests, not theirs."
Casper nodded thoughtfully. "He's probably worked with enough young clients who were exploited to recognize the warning signs."
She leaned forward, her hands clasped together as she held his gaze. "Exactly. I didn't understand it at the time and didn't fully appreciate it for years, but he was always looking out for me when no one else was."
"And Nathan?"
