Page 81 of I Wish I Would've Warned You

“Me too.”

Then: the unmistakable sound of glass clinking. Crates shifting. Murmurs.

We pull apart.

Turn.

People from the event are standing just outside the open doorway. Phones out. Jaw dropped. Recording.

“You’re sleeping with your stepsister?” someone says.

“So Aidan Dawson covered up a DUIandincest?” another voice whispers.

The murmurs grow louder. Buzzing. Snapping photos. Filming.

I let go of Cole’s hand.

But he grabs it right back and pulls me down the hall, away from the crowd.

As we disappear around the corner, I hear one final question—loud and cutting like a knife through the noise:

“Mr. Dawson! How long has your son been screwing his stepsister? Isthatyour idea of family values?”

33

At Least We Know Where Aidan Dawson Stands on Incest

Why Dawson Should Cancel His Book Tour Amidst Scandal

How Long Has This Relationship Been Going On?

Will He Address It?

Utter Silence on Son & Stepdaughter’s Relationship Speaks Volumes

Social Media Users Pick Apart Body Language

34

EMILY

“Can you believe the gall of this man?” the blonde anchor sneers from the flatscreen. Her perfectly curled hair doesn’t move as she gestures emphatically. “Lecturing us all on the importance of family values, bragging about how his blended family is a model for the nation?—”

“Hold on, Kelly,” her cohost interrupts. He’s wearing a pinstriped suit and a smirk that doesn’t quite reach his eyes. “Do you think there’s a chance he didn’t know? That maybe the kids had their own thing going on without his knowledge?”

“Oh, they definitely had more thanonething going on,” she fires back with a roll of her eyes. “But okay, James, let’s play devil’s advocate. Let’s say hehad no ideahis son was sleeping with his stepdaughter—under his own roof. Is that really the kind of man we want speaking at our town hall? Leading book clubs on moral integrity?”

“Point taken,” James says smoothly, turning to the camera. “Let’s check in with Amanda, who’s live in The Square with public reactions to the news.”

The broadcast cuts to a reporter standing in front of a massive digital billboard looping Aidan Dawson’s book promo—his face still smug, still untouchable.

Below it, a crowd.

Real people. Furious voices.

“Disgusting.”

“Can’t believe this is happening here.”

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