“That’s why he didn’t react when the story broke. When everyone found out I was a lesbian. He already knew.”
“He said he stayed out of it because it wasn’t his business. But he’s willing to come forward now. To say what Billy told him.”
Sarah stared at the folder.
“What am I supposed to do with this?”
“Fight.” Lizzie’s hand hit the table flat. “Fight for your position. Fight for your reputation. Stop letting them win.”
“I’ve been thinking maybe fighting isn’t worth it anymore. The hotel, the board, all of it. I’ll never be one of them. My connection to Key West was Billy. Without him—”
“This isn’t just about the hotel.” Lizzie leaned forward. “It’s about justice. Your side deserves to be heard.”
Sarah looked at her. Really looked. This woman had spent weeks gathering evidence, tracking down witnesses, building a case.
“Why are you doing this?” The question came out rough. “I blamed you for everything when all you did was make one mistake with a reporter. My house of cards would have fallen eventually. And yet you’re here, trying to help me. Why?”
Lizzie went still for a moment. When she spoke, her voice didn’t waver.
“Because I love you. What happened to you isn’t fair. Your mother and Cynthia destroyed your life for money and revenge. You deserve better.” She paused. “And because I’ve spent the last four weeks wishing I could go back and handle that phone call differently. This is something I can actually do. Something that might help.”
“I was cruel to you.”
“You were hurt. Your world was ending.”
“That doesn’t make it okay.”
“No. But I understand why it happened.” Lizzie’s hand moved across the table, stopping just short of Sarah’s. “I miss you. I miss us. I know you probably don’t want to hear that right now. But it’s true.”
Sarah looked at Lizzie’s hand hovering near hers. “I miss you too. I convinced myself that pushing you away was protecting you. That you’d be better off without me and this mess.”
“That’s not your choice to make.”
“I know.” Sarah took Lizzie’s hand. “I’m sorry.”
“Your life isn’t falling apart. Some terrible people tried to destroy it.” Lizzie squeezed her hand. “But we can fight back now. We have evidence. We have witnesses. And Sarah—” She took a breath. “I found out Derek was already pushing the Gazette to publish a story about you. Before Cynthia got involved.”
Sarah went still. “What?”
Lizzie explained. When she was done, Sarah sat back. “Emma put it all in writing?”
“Yup.”
Sarah looked at everything spread across the table. Real evidence. A way to clear her name. And Lizzie had done this. For her.
“Okay.” She nodded. “Okay. I’ll fight.”
Lizzie’s face transformed. The first real smile Sarah had seen in weeks.
“Come back to my hotel room. We need to talk. Really talk. About everything.”
Lizzie stood. “Lead the way.”
They walked through the lobby hand in hand. Sarah didn’t care who saw. Didn’t care if someone took a photo or wrote another story.
For the first time in weeks, she felt like maybe things would actually be okay.
Chapter 30
