That decision didn’t last long.
The next morning, Aunt Mercy called Bailey unexpectedly and started asking questions about the accident. Where had it happened? What time? What did the man look like? Had he said anything?
Bailey’s exhaustion vanished, replaced by a cold certainty.
Mercy knew about the reward.
And Mercy was planning something.
Bailey got home, too tired to confront anyone, and fell asleep with the ring box still in her pocket.
Downstairs, Mercy and Ariel were watching a news clip about Nicholas Phil’s search for his rescuer.
Mercy quickly put the pieces together and realized Bailey was the one who had saved him.
Ariel wanted to tell the truth at first.
Mercy had other ideas.
She persuaded Ariel to lie, telling her the reward money could save them all, pay off her student loans, maybe even help Bailey later. Ariel hesitated, but years of being shaped by Mercy’s manipulation won out.
By that afternoon, Mercy had called Phil Enterprises and arranged a meeting.
At 4:00 p.m., Ariel and Mercy sat in Nicholas Phil’s office.
Nicholas listened to Ariel’s story with a calm expression, but something didn’t feel right. She said he had been completely unconscious. She never mentioned the ring.
After they left, Nicholas turned to his best friend and COO, Javon Mitchell.
“That’s not her,” he said.
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