22. Tessa
Tessa
Ididn’t sleep much.
Not because I was afraid.
But because my mind wouldn’t stop.
Everything felt different now.
Not lighter—exactly.
But clearer.
Like something inside me had finally clicked into place.
For the first time in years…
I wasn’t waiting for something bad to happen.
I was waiting for my moment.
Morning light spilled through the windows, soft and steady.
Ace was already awake.
Of course he was.
Leaning against the kitchen counter, coffee in hand, like he hadn’t moved all night.
“You sleep at all?” I asked.
“A little.”
I nodded, grabbing a mug and pouring myself coffee.
Simple.
Normal.
Grounding.
But underneath it?
Everything was about to change.
“I’ve been thinking,” I said, turning toward him.
His gaze lifted immediately.
Focused.
“Dangerous,” he muttered.
A small smile tugged at my lips.
“Yeah. Probably.”
I stepped closer, wrapping both hands around the mug.
“They’re expecting me to take the deal.”
“Yeah.”
“They think I’ll fold. Stay quiet. Make it easy.”
His jaw tightened slightly.
“They’re wrong.”
Silence settled for a second.
Not heavy.
Just… building.
“I don’t want to fight this quietly,” I said.
His eyes sharpened.
“Good.”
“I want it out there,” I continued. “All of it. The truth. The video. What they did.”
He studied me for a long moment.
Not questioning.
Not doubting.
Just making sure.
“You’re sure?” he asked.
That question mattered.
Because once this started—
There was no going back.
I thought about the courtroom.
The silence.
The six years that followed.
The way everyone decided who I was without ever asking me.
And then I thought about yesterday.
About the truth.
About finally knowing I wasn’t crazy.
“I’m sure,” I said.
Something shifted in his expression.
Not surprise.
Approval.
Respect.
“Alright,” he said. “Then we do it right.”
My pulse kicked a little faster.
“How?”
He set his coffee down.
Business now.
Focused.
“We don’t just dump it online and hope for the best,” he said. “We control the release.”
I frowned slightly. “Control it how?”
“We go through someone who can’t be ignored.”
A beat.
“Media,” I said.
He nodded once.
“Yeah. But not small-town gossip. We go bigger.”
My stomach flipped.
Because that meant attention.
A lot of it.
“They’re going to come after me harder,” I said.
“They already are,” he replied.
Fair point.
I exhaled slowly.
“Okay.”
He watched me carefully.
“You still in?”
I met his gaze.
Steady.
“I’m done hiding.”
That was it.
That was the line.
He nodded once.
“Then let’s make a call.”
My heart started racing again.
But this time—
It wasn’t fear.
It was adrenaline.
An hour later, we were sitting at the small table by the window.
My phone in my hand.
His laptop open in front of him.
“You ever done an interview before?” he asked.
I let out a short laugh. It dawned on me that it’s been so long since I laughed.
“Does prison intake count?”
His mouth twitched.
“Not exactly.”
“Then no.”
He nodded.
“Good. Means you won’t sound rehearsed.”
“Comforting.”
“Honest,” he corrected.
I looked down at my phone again.
The number pulled up on the screen.
A regional investigative reporter, Blaze, had recommended.
Someone with reach.
Someone who didn’t scare easily.
“Once I do this…” I said quietly, “There’s no going back.”
Ace’s voice was calm.
“There wasn’t the second that video surfaced.”
Yeah.
He was right.
I took a breath.
Then hit call.
It rang once.
Twice.
Three times—
“Sarah Whitman.”
My throat tightened for half a second.
Then I pushed through it.
“My name is Tessa Bloom,” I said.
“And I think you’ve been looking for my story.”
Silence.
Then—
“…I have,” she said carefully.
Good.
“Then you might want to hear the truth,” I said.
Ace’s gaze stayed on me the entire time.
Steady.
Grounding.
“What kind of truth?” Sarah asked.
I swallowed once.
“The kind that puts an innocent woman in prison for six years,” I said.
“And protects the man who actually caused the crash.”
Silence.
Sharp.
Focused.
“I’m listening,” she said.
And just like that—
It started.
I ended the call twenty minutes later.
My hands were shaking again.
But not like before.
This felt like standing at the edge of something huge.
“Well?” Ace asked.
I let out a breath.
“She’s coming here.”
His brows lifted slightly.
“That was fast.”
“She said if this is real…” I paused, my pulse kicking again. “…it’s bigger than a local story.”
He nodded.
“Yeah. It is.”
I looked down at my hands.
Then back up at him.
“This is really happening.”
“Yeah,” he said.
I swallowed.
“They’re going to see it,” I whispered.
“Everyone.”
His gaze held mine.
“Good.”
And for the first time—
That didn’t terrify me.