“I mean it. Let them investigate. I have nothing to hide.”
His eyes dropped.
“It isn’t really about the police.”
And suddenly, I understood.
“No.”
“Rachel—”
“Please.”
He sighed.
“Corporate is extremely sensitive about theft accusations, especially when a guest has a large public following.”
My throat closed.
“I have two little girls.”
He looked away.
“Their father died less than a year ago. This is our only income.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Three months ago, I found six hundred dollars under a mattress upstairs.”
He nodded.
“I remember.”
“I turned in every dollar.”
“I know.”
“You wrote a note saying I was an example to the staff.”
“I remember.”
“Then how does one accusation erase everything you know about me?”
Mr. Bennett didn’t answer.
That silence was his answer.
I was fired that afternoon.
Nothing had been proven.
No ring had been found.
Nobody had caught me stealing anything.
But Vanessa walked away satisfied.
And I walked out of the hotel without a job.
My final paycheck wasn’t enough to cover even half my rent after daycare and taxes.
I stood at the bus stop doing the math.
Then I realized I couldn’t bear sitting on a bus trying not to cry in front of strangers.
So I walked.
It was a long walk.
That gave me plenty of time to be terrified.
When I reached daycare, Emma came running toward me with only one shoe.
“Mommy!”
Lucy followed.
They both crashed into my arms.
I squeezed them too tightly.
“Too much squish,” Lucy complained.
I loosened my hold.
“Sorry, baby.”
That night, I made boxed macaroni and cheese.
I asked about their day.
I laughed when I was supposed to.
I pretended everything was normal.
They believed me.
After they fell asleep, I sat on the kitchen floor.
Daniel used to sit there when the twins were babies.
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