Chapter 4 - Eight Names Begin to Fall
By sunrise, every one of the eight men was gone from Mercer House.
By noon, their protection had begun disappearing too.
Not because Jude threatened anyone.
Because the video existed.
The detectives interviewed me at the hospital.
Jude waited outside.
Detective Laura Chen sat across from me.
"Ms. Sinclair, you're certain you want to proceed?"
"Yes."
"Even knowing who Bryce's father is?"
Especially because I knew.
"Yes."
She nodded.
"Good."
When I came out, Jude stood.
"How did it go?"
"I did it."
"I know."
"You don't know. You weren't inside."
His mouth twitched.
"Fair point."
We walked toward the elevator.
Then I stopped.
A television in the waiting room was showing Judge Whitmore.
A reporter shouted:
"Judge Whitmore, are you recusing yourself from cases involving Mercer Holdings?"
Another reporter asked about his son.
The judge entered a black SUV without answering.
I stared at Jude.
"You did that?"
"No."
"Jude."
"I released nothing."
"Then who did?"
"Someone at the party apparently decided hypocrisy makes excellent breakfast news."
I studied him.
"You know who."
"Probably."
"Are you going to tell me?"
"No."
The elevator arrived.
Inside, Jude's phone rang.
He answered.
"Mercer."
A man's angry voice was loud enough for me to hear.
"You've destroyed my son."
Jude's expression hardened.
Judge Whitmore.
"Your son made his own decisions."
"You could have handled this quietly."
"That's what he counted on."
"I can make your life extremely difficult."
Jude looked at me.
Then pressed the speaker button.
"Judge, Audrey Sinclair is standing beside me."
Silence.
Jude continued.
"Would you like to repeat that threat?"
The call ended.
I stared at him.
"That was cruel."
"No. Cruel would have been letting him believe nobody heard it."
The elevator doors opened.
For the next several days, the story grew.
Other women came forward.
One accused Bryce of harassment at a university fundraiser.
Another described an incident involving Grant Holloway.
A former employee identified Peter Langford.
The pattern became impossible to ignore.
And suddenly, the eight men who had surrounded one maid in a service corridor discovered something none of their families had prepared them for.
Consequences.
But the biggest surprise came four days later.
I entered Jude's study wearing my sling.
"You wanted to see me?"
"Sit."
"That usually means I'm in trouble."
"Does it?"
"With you? Frequently."
He almost smiled.
Then he pushed a folder toward me.
I opened it.
It contained a revised employee protection policy.
Independent reporting.
Outside investigations.
Mandatory camera review.
Automatic suspension of guest privileges after credible accusations.
And an emergency security line accessible to every employee.
I looked up.
"What is this?"
"What should have existed already."
"You're changing the entire house policy?"
"Yes."
"Because of me?"
"Because what happened to you exposed a failure."
I read another page.
Then stopped.
"Lifetime bans?"
"Bryce and the others will never enter any Mercer property again."
"Hotels too?"
"Hotels. Restaurants. Clubs. Offices. Residences."
"That's hundreds of buildings."
"Three hundred twelve."
I stared at him.
"You counted?"
"I own them, Audrey."
"Right."
He leaned back.
"There's something else."
I immediately became suspicious.
"What?"
"I want you to supervise implementation."
I laughed.
Then winced.
Jude pointed at me.
"Doctor said no laughing."
"You want the maid to redesign your employee safety program?"
"I want the woman who discovered its weaknesses."
"I discovered them by getting attacked."
"Exactly."
"That is a terrible recruitment strategy."
"It worked."
I stared at him.
Then something occurred to me.
"Would I still be polishing silver?"
"No."
"Serving dinner?"
"No."
"Cleaning up after billionaires?"
"Only metaphorically."
I smiled.
"Salary?"
He named a number.
I nearly dropped the folder.
"You're insane."
"Possibly."
"That's almost triple what I make."
"Correct."
"Why?"
His expression became serious.
May you like
"Because being invisible was never your job."
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