The Divorced Heiress Is Entering a New Marriage

going on Then it’s all going to come down like a house of cards. You might be the first to stand against him. Hazel, but I would put money on it, you won’t be the last.”

I found some comfort in that, that Logan and I might have been helping to pave the way for other people that Mr. Hatfield Senior had hurt. People like Tammy and Frank. Who knew who else.

“You can’t give up.” Rachel said. “And since you can’t give up, neither can we. Right, Maria?”

Maria nodded, her spirits lifted. “This website is going to go viral. I don’t care if I have to message every influencer in the city to help it do so.”

“Just be careful,” I told them, still feeling nervous.

I couldn’t stop them. I wouldn’t, if this could do some good.

But the looming threat of Mr. Hatfield Senior made me terribly uneasy.

There was really no telling what he might do next. 308

id, “That’s freaking impossible, Hazel,”

Their suddenly and visceral reactions helped ease some of my fraying nerves. After seeing Logan’s mother break down at the hospital, and then experiencing Logan totally icing me out of his recovery, I had no idea how to react.

Logan wanting to leave me was the most logical solution I could consider at the time. But with my friends. support, I realized perhaps that was just what I had been afraid would happen. It wasn’t logical at all.

“That man loves you, Hazel,” Maria said.

“If he didn’t leave you by now,” Rachel said, “I think he’s locked in for life”

Rachel ushered me toward the couch to sit down while Maria went to pour me a drink. She returned with three glasses of white wine and handed one to each of us, while keeping the third for herself.

been

When I calmed down some, Maria asked, “We’ve been keeping track of all the things the media has be saying about it. It’s absolutely infuriating. They don’t know you at all.”

n cay that you

“Don’t get me started,” Rachel said. “I nearly got into a fight with a girl at work. She tried to were a drug dealer.”

“I’ve never even done drugs,” I said.

“I know!” Maria said. “These people. They see these things on the websites and social media, and they instantly believe it. It’s ridiculous.”

“Its hot gossip right now,” Rachel said. “But it will pass on quickly. That’s the only reason I didn’t punch that girl in the face. She’ll be onto something else tomorrow.”

“I hope so,” I said. “But I’m honestly not sure. Logan’s grandfather isn’t going to give up easily, especially if we can trust Mrs. Hatfield’s word.” With how upset she was, I was inclined to believe her when she spoke the worst about Mr. Hatfield Senior.

Her upset seemed genuine. Likely that terrible man had been making her life miserable for a very long time, and this final push was what sent her over the edge.

What a despicable human being.

“Just what are they saying anyway?” I asked. “Is my being a drug dealer the worst of it?” Maybe it was morbid to want to know, but I felt like I had to face it. Only if I knew the full extent of what I was up against would I be able to overcome it.

Mabel Fritz might have been on my side now, but I still wanted to do my part.

“One story said this isn’t your first time doing this. Apparently a man named Kevin came back from your past to say that you also ruined his life,” Rachel said.

“That guy was such a tool,” Maria said. “He wasn’t even a good liar. It only took Mike and I about five minutes to discover he wasted all of his own money at the casino. He hasn’t even lived in the same state as you, Hazel, ever in his life.”

“Wait,” I said, stopping them before they could continue. “Maria, what are you talking about, Mike and 17”

“They’re on again,” Rachel sald, sipping her wine.

That didn’t surprise me. What I didn’t understand was, “You guys are debunking the rumors about me?”

“Well…” Maria blushed a little. “I didn’t want to share this with you before it’s ready but… yeah. Mike has been helping me with the coding and with digging some info, but we’ve started a website for you, Hazel Well, on your behalf. To the Internet, we’re an anonymous group set on uncovering the truth about you.”

“I want to see it,” I said.

Maria, nodding, set her glass aside, then disappeared into her bedroom for a moment. She returned with her laptop.

+26 BONUS

Glancing at Rachel, I asked her, “Did you know about this?”

“Yeah,” Rachel said. “But it’s small time. They get maybe 10 unique hits a day? They’re trying, but it isn’t making much of a dent.”

“Yet,” Maria said, sitting between Rachel and me on the couch. She opened her laptop and typed in a website url. “It only takes one post to go viral. We just have to wait for the right person to make the right connection. Then the truth with be unstoppable.”

“Sure,” Rachel said with a shrug.

I watched the laptop screen as the website began to load. Across the top was a picture of Mr. Hatfield Senior with crudely drawn devil horns. My picture was behind his, in black and white. I had a target painted on my forehead.

They weren’t going for subtlety, I guessed.

“The point of the website is twofold,” Maria continued. “We’re countering the false claims about you, while tying it all back to Mr. Hatfield’s Senior. He has his own skeletons in his closet. We’re going to drag the truth out into the light.”

“He’s not going to be happy about that,” I said.

“Mike has put in a lot of encryptions so we’ll be safe,” she said. “No one should be able to tie the website back to us. As far as anyone knows, we are just anonymous truth–seekers.”

“It’s kind of badass,” Rachel said.

I didn’t know how I felt. On one hand, I was happy to have my friends supporting me. On the other, I didn’t like the idea of them endangering themselves for me.

“I don’t know about this, you guys. Maybe we should put all of this on pause for now,” I said.

“What? Why?” Maria asked me.

“Just… the things Mrs. Hatfield said. And even what happened to me… Mr. Hatfield had me thrown in jail for a night, don’t forget that. And it felt like a warning and a show of force more than any actual punishment. I don’t want to think about what might happen if this really does go viral.”

“We’re protected,” Maria said. “Mike has those encryptions.”

“I don’t want to doubt Mike,” I said. “But do you think his encryptions would hold up against a vindictive man with infinite wealth and power?” Belongs to (N)ôvel/Drama.Org.

Maria frowned, thinking.

“I’m not saying you don’t have cause to be freaked out by this guy,” Rachel chimed in. “He’s certainly thrown his weight around enough. But don’t for a minute think that he’s infallible. All the money and power in the world won’t make him likeable.”

“He can pay for that,” I said.

“No, he can’t,” Rachel countered. “Eventually, someone somewhere is going to want to leak what’s been

going on Then it’s all going to come down like a house of cards. You might be the first to stand against him. Hazel, but I would put money on it, you won’t be the last.”

I found some comfort in that, that Logan and I might have been helping to pave the way for other people that Mr. Hatfield Senior had hurt. People like Tammy and Frank. Who knew who else.

“You can’t give up.” Rachel said. “And since you can’t give up, neither can we. Right, Maria?”

Maria nodded, her spirits lifted. “This website is going to go viral. I don’t care if I have to message every influencer in the city to help it do so.”

“Just be careful,” I told them, still feeling nervous.

I couldn’t stop them. I wouldn’t, if this could do some good.

But the looming threat of Mr. Hatfield Senior made me terribly uneasy.

There was really no telling what he might do next.