Page 89 of The Villain Edit

“She’s behind this.” The only other living person who knows anything about it is Cora. No one from my old life has ever recognized me. Cora and Michael gave me a new name when they adopted me, and as far as I was aware, those records were sealed. “Ashley—”

“I don’t like Ashley and I’m a little pissed off you’re making me defend her, but you just publicly called her out and you have no proof. How do you think this makes you look? You are losing it.”

I find a bottle of water in the mini-fridge and tear off the cap. “No shit.”

David’s phone chimes and he glances at it before looking back up to me. “Meeting at your apartment, eight o’clock tonight, to strategize our way forward. You’re locked out of social media and your official response is ‘no comment.’”

“Was there any mention of Michael?” I ask, dropping onto a chair.

“Not yet. I talked to Lilah. She’s going to take the boy to visit a cousin out of state for a while. She’ll call me if anyone approaches her.”

“Good.” Hopefully, Ashley will keep this secret to herself. Although what good is a piece of information if it can’t be used?

I’m going to see her, I realize. Tonight, tomorrow, soon. She’ll come by to let me know she can make me regret her by hurting Michael’s legacy too.

The rest of the day passes in a series of fight sequences and I’m glad to have someplace to put my anger and resentment.

“You’re channeling the darker aspects of the character perfectly,” the director tells me at the end of the day. “You’ve embraced this role. Well done.”

It doesn’t feel good.

I walk into the luxury apartment David rented for me after eight to David, Emma, and Rose all sitting around my table, tablets, phones, and laptops up and running. Damage control is underway. Korean takeout covers the table, but David pushes a salad toward me.

“Is there anything we can do?” I ask, dropping into a seat.

Rose takes a sip of water. “You show the world you grew into a man who can handle his own mistakes and do better. People love a redemption story.”

“They also love a downfall,” I grumble.

“You’re a good actor, you’re hardworking, and the people who matter aren’t going to change their minds because you had a traumatic childhood,” Emma says. “And let’s face it—however much of your career is down to your talent and drive, your uncle was Michael Sinclair and that helped you get where you are.”

That makes me laugh. My scandal might bring Michael’s into the light. He helped me up, I might help him fall.

Emma gives me a pointed look. “The tabloids will give you hell for a while, but everything will settle down. This is simply another embarrassing breach of your privacy. It deserves our attention. But your career is going to be fine. This is not the end of the world.”

It feels like the end of the world.

Rose nods. “Get used to being the butt of a few jokes on the late-night talk show circuit for the next month—or until someone else eclipses you with a real scandal.”

A month. A whole ass month of this is the best I can hope for. I groan again.

“So the plan is to lie low during the frenzy,” David says, summarizing his notes. This whole meeting, I realize, was finished before I walked through the door. My life decided, without my input. “The official response is ‘no comment’ while the lawyers look into this, then we’ll shift into talking about this as a breach of privacy, about your childhood as something traumatic that you’ve moved past. Some charity work for a youth organization or two and a solid donation.”

“Would you be willing to do an interview with Julia Spencer to take the narrative back?” Rose asks. “It would build sympathy with the public to hear more about the hardships you faced growing up.”

I scrub my hands over my face. I don’t like the idea of showing off my scars on TV.

“The temperature right now is more upset that you hid these things,” Rose says, “and still upset about how things with Kate panned out. So building sympathy and incorporating your past into your brand is the way forward.”

“I’ll do it,” I say with a sigh. “But what about Ashley?”

“What about Ashley?” Rose asks sharply.

Seriously? “She sold me out, and she’s getting away with it.”

“You will say nothing about her to the public,” Rose says sternly. “If she did this, the lawyers will handle it. If she didn’t, our asses are covered.”

“What do you mean ‘if she didn’t’?”

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