Chapter 30
Over breakfast, Casper continually sought Willow’s face.
He’d never believed in happy endings, at least not for himself.
But the smile reached her eyes, reminding him why he was falling so hard for this remarkable woman.
Whatever it took, however dangerous it became, he wanted to make sure she got her happy ending.
And if he was lucky enough that that included him, he was ready.
They had almost finished eating when his phone rang with an update from LSIMT. His own smile dropped as he listened to Sadie's report about new flight schedules and hotel arrangements.
"They've moved our arrival time up by six hours," he said after ending the call. "And Sadie found a hotel room across the street from the screenwriters’ conference center and next to the one where the signing will be. We can access the signing venue without going through public spaces."
"More changes to keep me safe," Willow said, though her tone was filled with frustration about the precautions.
"Whatever it takes." He reached across the table to squeeze her hand.
They were in the middle of washing the breakfast dishes when the driveway alert sounded. Casper raced through Willow's house and out the front door, his tactical instincts taking over completely.
"Stay inside! Call Logan!" he ordered, pulling the door closed behind him with enough force to ensure it latched securely.
He felt certain that Willow would follow his instructions, so he hurried across the wooden planks of her front porch and down the steps. His eyes never left the small white sedan that was pulling slowly into the driveway, every detail being cataloged and assessed for potential threat.
Without giving the driver a chance to exit the vehicle, he stalked over with a purpose, communicating his serious intent. Stopping directly beside the driver's door, close enough to react instantly to any aggressive movement, he called out in a voice that carried unmistakable authority.
"Show me your identification. Now."
Through the windshield, he could see a single female driver with no passengers. The woman appeared to be close to forty, with dark hair and her face mostly hidden behind large, dark sunglasses that prevented him from reading her expression or intent.
As soon as she rolled down the window, he stepped closer, his body language making it clear that compliance wasn't optional. "ID. And remove your sunglasses immediately."
The woman's mouth opened and closed several times like a fish gasping for air, then she slowly lifted her hand and pulled off the sunglasses with trembling fingers. Even before she fumbled for identification, Casper knew he was looking at Gloria Vasquez, Willow's former assistant.
He gave no indication that he recognized her, maintaining the professional distance that would keep her off balance and more likely to reveal useful information.
"I… I’m looking for Willow Thorton," Gloria said, her voice carrying a nervous quaver. "I understand she lives here."
Casper took her driver's license when she finally managed to extract it from her wallet, noting that the address listed was in Texas.
"What is your business with Ms. Thorton?" he asked, his tone remaining officially neutral. "You don't have an appointment."
"I didn't have her phone number," Gloria stammered, her gaze darting nervously between his face and the house behind him. "I found her address online."
The admission sent a chill through Casper's professional assessment. If Willow's address was available online, their security situation was even more compromised than they'd realized.
"Why are you here?"
"Does she live here?" Gloria asked, eyes still wide.
"Answer my question, please." His voice carried the kind of quiet authority that let her know he wasn’t giving any information out.
Her gaze darted from his face to the front door and back again, her nervous energy increasing with each passing second. Finally, she said, "I came to apologize."
"And this couldn't be handled through an email sent to her current assistant?"
"No... I needed to do this face-to-face." Her lips appeared dry, and her tongue darted out to moisten them in a gesture that spoke to genuine anxiety rather than calculated deception.
"If you have something to say to her, then you can—"
"Casper?"
He heard the front door open and knew Willow was now on the porch, despite his instructions to remain inside.
As much as he didn't want her anywhere near this woman until he'd fully assessed the threat level, if this conversation needed to happen, it would be while he maintained complete control of the situation.
Without turning his eyes away from Gloria, he called out, "She says she's here to offer an apology. Do you want to hear what she has to say?"
"Yes… but not alone."
"Don't worry. I wasn't planning on leaving your side."
He stepped back and addressed Gloria. "Leave everything in your vehicle and step out slowly.
We'll walk toward the porch, but you'll stop exactly where I tell you.
Keep your hands visible at all times. Whatever you have to say needs to be limited to five minutes.
Then you'll return to your vehicle, and I'll watch you leave the property. "
Gloria's mouth opened and closed several times, her eyes widening. Casper's trained assessment suggested she seemed genuinely unprepared for this level of professional protection, which could have been an authentic reaction or very good acting.
She nodded her acquiescence, and he stepped back to allow her to exit the vehicle, positioning himself where he could intercept any movement toward Willow.
He escorted Gloria toward the front porch, lifting his hand in a clear signal for Willow to maintain her distance. When they were fifteen feet away, close enough for normal conversation but far enough to give him reaction time if needed, he stopped.
"You can speak from here."
Gloria's hands twisted together nervously as she looked up at Willow on the porch.
"I know I was wrong," she began, her voice carrying genuine emotion.
"I… I…” She shook her head as though to clear her thoughts.
She then inhaled deeply and, after letting out a long sigh, began again.
“Working for you was a dream come true. You treated me so well, and I abused our relationship.
I have no excuses for what I did, and when you let me go, I lashed out in embarrassment.
But I've been getting counseling through my church, and I needed to apologize to you personally. "
Casper watched Willow's face carefully, seeing the mixture of fear and cautious appreciation in her expression. This was clearly difficult for her, but she was handling it with the same grace she'd shown throughout their investigation.
"I appreciate you coming," Willow said carefully. "It took courage to drive all this way."
"At first, I kept making excuses… my brother needed money, and I sold the gifts you had given me. When I realized I could sell them for more than I expected, I started taking things I was sure you wouldn’t miss.
And your popularity was so great, I felt important being with you.
" Gloria continued, tears beginning to track down her cheeks.
"But as I talked to my priest, he helped me understand that I was wrong. That I had become someone I was ashamed of. And he told me that I needed to make amends to people I’ve hurt.
I hurt you badly, and I'm truly sorry for betraying your trust."
“Is this the first time you’ve been here? In this town?” he asked, keeping his gaze on her, wanting to assess if she would lie.
Gloria looked over at him, her brows drawn together. “Yes. I didn’t know until a couple of days ago where she lived.”
The raw emotion in her voice seemed authentic, and Casper reassessed his initial suspicions about her involvement in the stalking. This felt more like genuine remorse than calculated manipulation.
"How did you find out where she lived?" he interjected, his tone remaining professionally neutral despite the apparent sincerity of her apology.
Gloria wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, looking up at Willow still standing on the porch. "It was on James Kellerman's website. He's that blogger who writes about former child stars. He had your address listed in one of his recent posts about where you'd moved to."
Casper felt a surge of cold fury at this revelation. A blogger was publishing Willow's private address online, essentially providing a roadmap for anyone obsessed enough to want to find her.
"Thank you for the apology," Willow said softly. "I can see that you're trying to make positive changes in your life."
"I am," Gloria said earnestly. She looked from Casper to Willow then back to him again. “This… you… I haven’t been here to cause trouble. I meet with my priest weekly and now work in our church as a cleaner every day. You can ask him.” Turning back to Willow, she continued, "I would never do anything to hurt you.
I was just... lost for a while. But I'm getting better. "
Casper stepped forward slightly, his body language indicating that the conversation was concluding. "Ms. Vasquez, I appreciate that you've made the effort to apologize. However, any future contact should go through official channels. Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes, absolutely," Gloria said quickly. "I just needed to say this in person. I won't bother her again."
He escorted her back to her vehicle, watching carefully as she got inside and started the engine. Only when her car had disappeared down the long driveway did he allow himself to relax slightly.
Within an hour, LSIMT had verified Gloria's story.
Her priest let them know she had been in the church working daily for the past several months, and he had suggested she find Willow to apologize in person.
She'd been living with relatives in Texas since leaving Los Angeles.
Her timeline checked out, her location during the recent escalation of incidents could be accounted for, and her emotional state seemed consistent with someone genuinely trying to make amends for past mistakes.
But the information about James Kellerman's website publishing Willow's address had opened an entirely new avenue of investigation, and a much more dangerous security breach than they'd previously realized.
As Casper updated Logan on the developments, he was both relieved to cross Gloria off their suspect list and deeply concerned about how easily accessible Willow's private information had become online.
The hunt for their real stalker was far from over, and now they knew he had help from sources he probably didn't even realize were assisting his obsession.