Chapter 21
Lucy
The next week passes slowly. I stay at the hospital with Mama Betty and the nurses file in and out and in and out. More blood work. Another test. New imaging. I know they need all of this to get a clear picture of what is happening, but it doesn’t make it any less stressful.
Through it all, Aria has made herself indispensable.
She has ferried food, clothing, chargers, and messages back and forth while I am holed up in here.
I keep meeting her down in the lobby and we talk, catch up, exchange messages, but I still haven’t offered to introduce her to Ms. Betty.
She hasn’t pushed or prodded, just let me have the space I need.
What she doesn’t know is that the only reason I haven’t introduced her is because I would like to share my feelings with her before Mama Betty starts talking wedding bells.
Today has been a better day. She hasn’t had as much fatigue or confusion, so I am thinking about going out to have dinner with Aria and talk, despite the anxiety that thought causes me. I know Mama Betty is right about one thing: I can’t put my life completely on hold, though it is tempting.
A buzz in my pocket alerts me to a message coming through.
Probably Aria, I think, before pausing at the multiple other messages that start buzzing through as well. Opening up the first one, I see a message from Cierra.
Cierra: Have you seen this???
I open up the attached link and start reading.
Esteemed Lawyer, Victim of Revenge Plot?
I scrunch up my nose in confusion, before nodding in understanding as I read the next line. Of course it’s about Jacob.
Jacob Anthony Beaumont, local attorney at Edwards & Silas Law, has become the latest victim in the epidemic sweeping our country: revenge porn.
For those unaware of the term, revenge porn is defined as the sharing of sexual images and videos without the consent of the subject for the purpose of causing harm, whether that be emotional or reputational.
In Mr. Beaumont’s case, the target may be both.
I roll my eyes even as a twinge of sympathy sparks inside of me. He may be a dick, but that doesn’t mean he deserves to have his private pictures leaked.
According to Mr. Beaumont, the only two people who had access to the content that leaked was himself and the other person in the pictures/videos: his ex-girlfriend, Aria Gale Cunningham.
“No.” My whisper is barely audible.
Mr. Beaumont denies this theory claiming, “Aria would never do something like that.” He claims that the content was leaked anonymously using a VPN and several other techniques designed to hide the origin of the leak, and “she doesn’t know how to use that technology.
” However, several recent events cast doubt on his denial.
Ms. Cunningham and Mr. Beaumont recently parted ways after having been in a relationship for five years.
Several anonymous sources close to the couple say that she broke up with him and publicly ridiculed his sexual prowess, intending to humiliate him.
In addition to the personal motives, Ms. Cunningham may have professional reasons for wanting to damage Mr. Beaumont’s reputation.
It appears that just a few days before this leak occurred, Ms. Cunningham was fired from Edwards & Silas due to ethical concerns. It seems that Mr. Beaumont had discovered the breach of ethics and turned over the evidence to the partners at the firm, maintaining his professional integrity.
“Integrity, indeed,” I whisper. This time, my tone is filled with venom. My chest burns with the rage churning inside me because how fucking dare he?
He already got Aria fired from her job due to his bullshit claims, and now this? While I am sure he didn’t share the photos, I am also one hundred percent sure Aria didn’t either. But his so-called “defense” of her is only fanning the flames of suspicion and he fucking knows that.
I skim through the rest of the article, but it’s just more bullshit defending Jacob and throwing suspicion on Aria without outright accusing her.
I pace down the hallway and head toward the lobby so I don’t wake up Mama Betty with my scowling and muttering.
Because, despite the fact I know this article is full of shit, I still have questions.
One is more pressing than the rest: Why didn’t she tell me?