Chapter 7

It didn't take long for Gemma to figure out what Daniel meant when he left her with those words. The trending headlines about the "Glamorous Female Attorney" caught in a drunken scandal and the accusations of her knowingly being the other woman vanished from the internet almost instantly. The headlines were now filled with photos of Gemma from her teenage years, taken during the time Vincent sexually abused her. The whistleblower blatantly posted her full name and face online, leaving her to be dissected by the public. They painted her as a jealous, married woman using "freedom of speech" as an excuse to launch a vicious online attack on her husband's ex. "She's sick. Just because she wanted attention, she leaked someone else's trauma? As if she's so clean herself." "Exactly. Like father, like daughter. If her dad was that disgusting, she's probably the same. Hell, she might've even enjoyed it!" "Did you see her boobs? D-cups at that age? Please. Someone was clearly giving her a lot of attention." A barrage of filthy, humiliating words flooded Gemma's screen. She slammed the phone down and clutched her head with both hands. Old nightmares surged up like they were breaking free from the cracks in her mind. No matter how hard she fought to breathe, someone was always dragging her back into the past—smothering her with it, holding it over her like she would never escape. "Gemma! Breathe! Gemma!" "Get a plastic bag—now!" Her mind went blank. The noise around her felt distant and overwhelming. Then something slipped over her head about three times. Slowly, the world began to come back into focus. And there he was—Daniel, standing right in front of her again. But before he could say a word, Monica called him away again. Just as he turned to leave, Gemma heard his voice. "The trending post has already been taken down. Gemma, don't let there be a next time." In the days that followed, Dnaiel stayed by Monica's side. He took her to the ocean and watched the moon glowing quietly above them. They sat on a mountaintop, reminiscing about the good old days. Someone happened to spot them. They snapped a few photos and posted those photos online. But no one criticized Monica for knowingly getting involved with a married man. The comment section was filled with well-wishes and wistful sighs, mourning a love that had never gotten its happy ending. Some people came out of the woodwork, saying they remembered how in love the two of them were. People started digging up old stories from their school days, where Daniel once bought gifts for nearly everyone in class just so he would have an excuse to give one to Monica. Monica had once casually mentioned a cupcake she liked, and Daniel didn't even hesitate. He drove straight to the next city just to get it, and he had the cupcake delivered to her that very night. With stories like that floating around, even more people began to speak up. They urged Daniel to divorce Gemma and marry Monica. Monica kept sending screenshots of those comments to Gemma, over and over again, as if trying to rub it in. But Gemma didn't respond to Monica's provocations. Gemma had decided long ago that she didn't want Daniel anymore. Later that night, she opened the app linked to the hidden camera. She hadn't expected to see Monica completely naked, standing in front of Daniel. Her eyes were glassy with desperation as she said, "Daniel, my fourth wish is for you to touch me." On screen, Daniel stared at Monica with a torn expression. "Monica, you—" "This is my fourth wish. It's just a touch. Please, Daniel… Don't say no," Monica pleaded. She took his hand and gently guided it to her breasts. This time, he hesitated. However, he didn't pull away. Disgust flickered in Gemma's eyes. She saved the video, then turned off her phone. … Jennifer had tracked down the hospital where Sally was staying. She also gave Gemma a contact to handle the paperwork for her identity records. Gemma got everything ready, took a moment to compose herself, and headed to the hospital where Sally was.