Page 183 of Thorns of Malice

"You don't have to do that," Jaxon argues.

"Yes, he does," I assert.

Dax chuckles. He studies me for another moment.

"Well, you'll do it tomorrow?" I repeat.

He shakes his head.

"Really? You're not going to do it? For me?" I ask, disappointed.

He pulls out his phone. He types a text message and then tosses the phone on the table. "No, I just did it."

He turns his focus on Jaxon. "It's done. The supply coming out is limited, so I'm sure you'll do well, being the only supplier to offer it."

32

Dax

Dozens of women and men fill the conference room. Some attend via video due to the distance and the short notice. Their faces fill the screen at the front of the room. Two asked to listen only and weren't ready to reveal themselves to the others.

All are victims from the leaked tape. A few couldn't be contacted. One woman died from a drug overdose. Another died from cancer, and several couldn't be convinced to show up.

Zara, the woman who was only fourteen when Avery snorted cocaine off her pussy, was the hardest to convince to show up. Her father threatened to sue the college, but nothing's been done so far. She wouldn't confirm with the authorities it was her. But when Matt gave his press conference on TV, she called and said she would attend.

Getting the victims to show up was one battle. Convincing them to do what I want is another, and the tension in the room mounts.

I state, "All of you need to be comfortable coming forward. It has to be of your own free will. And I hope all of you take the TimeMarker test. At least then, you’ll know if you've been drugged or not, and you can pinpoint the time. Even if you're not ready to do something now, you can do it later."

More tension builds in the room.

Carla shakes her head. "You don't understand what it's going to be like for us to come forward the way you want us to."

Donnie agrees. "Yeah. We don't have the money you do. They'll bankrupt us."

"Even those of us who have money could be ruined. Anything that we've worked on in our careers could go down the drain," Leonardo frets.

"I understand—" I start but am cut off.

"Do you? How can you even begin to imagine?" Carla accuses, and shame fills her face. She looks away.

Brianna puts her hand on hers, and I am overcome with sympathy.

My gut flips. I take a few deep breaths and start again. "I won't claim to understand what you went through—are still going through. And I can only do what I can do."

"Which is what?" Zara asks.

I announce, "I have a fund for each of you with ten million dollars. It's only for you. You can use it for whatever you want, so you won't be any worse off, even if there is an initial financial blow or career roadblock. And I'll pay for the legal representation in a class action lawsuit against Winston Pharmaceuticals. We'll also personally go after Bobby Winston, Avery, and Professor Dyer."

"Sounds too good to be true," Leonardo mutters.

I reiterate, "I promise you, you won't be ruined by this financially."

"What about our reputations? How are you going to repair the damage?" Brianna calls out.

I sigh. "Look, I understand that this is going to be tough."

"Do you? Were you a victim? You weren't. So how can you even stand up here and pretend you understand what we went through?" Carla spouts.

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