"Why are you here?"
"Does she live here?" Gloria asked, eyes still wide.
"Answer my question, please." His voice carried the kind of quiet authority that let her know he wasn’t giving any information out.
Her gaze darted from his face to the front door and back again, her nervous energy increasing with each passing second. Finally, she said, "I came to apologize."
"And this couldn't be handled through an email sent to her current assistant?"
"No... I needed to do this face-to-face." Her lips appeared dry, and her tongue darted out to moisten them in a gesture that spoke to genuine anxiety rather than calculated deception.
"If you have something to say to her, then you can?—"
"Casper?"
He heard the front door open and knew Willow was now on the porch, despite his instructions to remain inside. As much as he didn't want her anywhere near this woman until he'd fully assessed the threat level, if this conversation needed tohappen, it would be while he maintained complete control of the situation.
Without turning his eyes away from Gloria, he called out, "She says she's here to offer an apology. Do you want to hear what she has to say?"
"Yes… but not alone."
"Don't worry. I wasn't planning on leaving your side."
He stepped back and addressed Gloria. "Leave everything in your vehicle and step out slowly. We'll walk toward the porch, but you'll stop exactly where I tell you. Keep your hands visible at all times. Whatever you have to say needs to be limited to five minutes. Then you'll return to your vehicle, and I'll watch you leave the property."
Gloria's mouth opened and closed several times, her eyes widening. Casper's trained assessment suggested she seemed genuinely unprepared for this level of professional protection, which could have been an authentic reaction or very good acting.
She nodded her acquiescence, and he stepped back to allow her to exit the vehicle, positioning himself where he could intercept any movement toward Willow.
He escorted Gloria toward the front porch, lifting his hand in a clear signal for Willow to maintain her distance. When they were fifteen feet away, close enough for normal conversation but far enough to give him reaction time if needed, he stopped.
"You can speak from here."
Gloria's hands twisted together nervously as she looked up at Willow on the porch. "I know I was wrong," she began, her voice carrying genuine emotion. "I… I…” She shook her head as though to clear her thoughts. She then inhaled deeply and, after letting out a long sigh, began again. “Working for you was a dream come true. You treated me so well, and I abused our relationship. I have no excuses for what I did, and when you let me go, I lashed out in embarrassment. But I've been gettingcounseling through my church, and I needed to apologize to you personally."
Casper watched Willow's face carefully, seeing the mixture of fear and cautious appreciation in her expression. This was clearly difficult for her, but she was handling it with the same grace she'd shown throughout their investigation.
"I appreciate you coming," Willow said carefully. "It took courage to drive all this way."
"At first, I kept making excuses… my brother needed money, and I sold the gifts you had given me. When I realized I could sell them for more than I expected, I started taking things I was sure you wouldn’t miss. And your popularity was so great, I felt important being with you." Gloria continued, tears beginning to track down her cheeks. "But as I talked to my priest, he helped me understand that I was wrong. That I had become someone I was ashamed of. And he told me that I needed to make amends to people I’ve hurt. I hurt you badly, and I'm truly sorry for betraying your trust."
“Is this the first time you’ve been here? In this town?” he asked, keeping his gaze on her, wanting to assess if she would lie.
Gloria looked over at him, her brows drawn together. “Yes. I didn’t know until a couple of days ago where she lived.”
The raw emotion in her voice seemed authentic, and Casper reassessed his initial suspicions about her involvement in the stalking. This felt more like genuine remorse than calculated manipulation.
"How did you find out where she lived?" he interjected, his tone remaining professionally neutral despite the apparent sincerity of her apology.
Gloria wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, looking up at Willow still standing on the porch. "It was on James Kellerman's website. He's that blogger who writes about formerchild stars. He had your address listed in one of his recent posts about where you'd moved to."
Casper felt a surge of cold fury at this revelation. A blogger was publishing Willow's private address online, essentially providing a roadmap for anyone obsessed enough to want to find her.
"Thank you for the apology," Willow said softly. "I can see that you're trying to make positive changes in your life."
"I am," Gloria said earnestly. She looked from Casper to Willow then back to him again. “This… you… I haven’t been here to cause trouble. I meet with my priest weekly and now work in our church as a cleaner every day. You can ask him.” Turning back to Willow, she continued, "I would never do anything to hurt you. I was just... lost for a while. But I'm getting better."
Casper stepped forward slightly, his body language indicating that the conversation was concluding. "Ms. Vasquez, I appreciate that you've made the effort to apologize. However, any future contact should go through official channels. Do I make myself clear?"
