Chapter 7: My Own Name

Elias stepped in front of me.

"She's not going anywhere alone."

"Mr. Wolfe." The detective sounded like she'd said his name in a lot of rooms. "I'm not asking."

Conrad leaned around the officers so the cameras in the hallway could get his face.

He waved a paper in the air.

"I'm her legal guardian! A judge signed it yesterday. She's not competent. That man bought her and married her while she was drugged!"

The detective sighed.

"Downstairs, everyone. Let's not do this in a hallway."

I put my hand on Elias's back.

He looked at me.

I nodded.

He picked up my crutches and handed them to me, and he didn't argue.

He just walked one step behind me the whole way.

The lobby of Elias's tower was all white marble and tall glass.

Somebody had let in half a dozen reporters.

They crowded the revolving doors with phones held up.

And in the middle of the lobby stood Simone.

She wore a plain gray sweater and no makeup.

She'd cried her mascara off on purpose.

When she saw me, she ran across the marble with her arms out.

"Lizzie! Oh my God, Lizzie, are you okay? Did he hurt you?"

She threw her arms around me.

In front of the cameras, it looked like a hug.

Her lips were right against my ear.

"Say one word about the studio," she whispered, "and they'll lock you up in a ward for the rest of your life. Daddy has the papers."

She stepped back and wiped her eyes for the reporters.