THE DIAGNOSIS

I refused, raising my hand in a firm no.

“Money doesn’t cover what I’ve lost. And it won’t protect me from what I could still lose. I only want the days I worked and what’s legally mine. Nothing more.”

Her breathing quickened.

“Then… at least know this: no one ever learned your name publicly that night at the dinner,” she said steadily. “I made sure of it, even when I thought you might have been at fault. In every statement, every conversation with the press, ...