Chapter 9 - The Old Photograph
The picture had been taken during senior year.
I remembered the day because my mother had been sick, I had worked until closing, and Lauren’s friends came through my line pretending they couldn’t find enough change.
Someone had taken a photo while they laughed.
At seventeen, I went home and cried in the bathroom so my mother wouldn’t hear.
At thirty-four, I handed the phone to the detective.
That difference mattered.
The next morning, Charles called from Pierce Wealth’s headquarters.
Lauren denied sending the message.
Mark Delaney denied everything too.
But compliance had found something worse.
Three prospect files contained notes written by Ava and later reassigned under Lauren’s name. Two client-contact records had been edited after the fact. One suitability memo had a date changed by a user credential linked to Delaney’s assistant account.
“Is Lauren being fired?” Ethan asked.
“Not yet,” Charles said. “We finish investigations before we decide outcomes.”
I respected that.
Then he added, “Lauren says you’re retaliating over high school.”
“Of course she does.”
“She also submitted a statement claiming you threatened to destroy her career.”
I laughed once.
“Where?”
“At your restaurant.”
“Every conversation there is on camera.”
“I know.”
That afternoon, I received another surprise.
A woman named Nicole Hayes asked to meet me.
I recognized her last name before her face.
Nicole had been one year behind Lauren and me in school. Quiet. Brilliant. Always carrying three textbooks.
We met at the restaurant before opening.
She sat with both hands around a coffee cup.
“I heard Lauren was in trouble,” she said.
“I can’t discuss an investigation.”
“I’m not asking you to.”
She looked at me.
“I’m here because she did the same thing to me.”
“In high school?”
“No.” Nicole swallowed. “At Pierce Wealth.”
May you like
She reached into her bag and pulled out an old termination letter.
Lauren’s signature was at the bottom.
