Chapter 9 - THE NIGHT TYLER LOST CONTROL
The police arranged to interview me the following morning.
Rebecca accompanied me.
I brought everything.
Screenshots.
Emails.
The scholarship agreement.
The threatening photographs.
The messages from unknown numbers.
Investigators documented the evidence and asked detailed questions about Tyler.
I answered honestly.
Even when it embarrassed me.
Especially then.
Three days later, Tyler appeared at Bellini's again.
This time, Vanessa wasn't with him.
He sat at the bar wearing sunglasses indoors.
I was carrying water glasses when he called my name.
"Emily."
I kept walking.
He stood.
"Don't ignore me."
I turned.
"What do you want?"
His expression was strained.
"Five minutes."
"No."
He stepped closer.
"Please."
That word surprised me.
Tyler almost never said please.
I looked toward Richard, who was standing near the entrance.
He nodded, indicating he was watching.
I kept my distance.
"Talk."
Tyler swallowed.
"I made a mistake."
I laughed bitterly.
"Which one?"
He looked around.
"Rourke's people told me they only wanted background information."
My stomach tightened.
"What did you give them?"
"Your address. Your schedule. Some old photographs."
I stared.
"You gave strangers my address?"
He looked away.
"They paid me."
"How much?"
Silence.
"Tyler."
"Twenty-five thousand."
I felt something inside me go cold.
Twenty-five thousand dollars.
That was what my safety had been worth to him.
He continued quickly.
"I didn't know they'd break into your apartment."
My breath caught.
"What?"
His face drained.
"I mean—"
"You knew about the break-in?"
He stepped backward.
"Emily, listen—"
"No. You listen."
My voice rose.
"You spent three years making me feel worthless. Then you sold my private information to someone who threatened my mother."
Customers began turning.
Tyler reached for my arm.
I stepped away.
"Don't touch me."
He froze.
I looked directly at him.
"You don't get to hurt me and call it a mistake because somebody else finally scared you."
Richard approached.
"Sir, you need to leave."
Tyler looked desperate.
"Emily, Rourke is dangerous."
"Then tell the police."
He swallowed.
"I can't."
"Why?"
His eyes filled with fear.
"Because I signed things."
I stared.
"What things?"
He shook his head.
Then whispered, "They said if I talked, Vanessa would find out what I did."
I felt a strange, exhausted sadness.
Even now, he cared more about being exposed than about what he'd done to me.
I stepped back.
"Then I hope you learn what consequences feel like."
That night, Tyler contacted Rebecca Shaw.
He agreed to speak with investigators.
His information helped identify the consulting firm that had purchased my records.
It also revealed that Sebastian Rourke had ordered a campaign to pressure Vincent through me.
But Tyler's cooperation didn't erase his actions.
He still faced consequences for unlawfully sharing private information and participating in the harassment.
And Vanessa ended their engagement.
When I heard, I expected to feel triumphant.
Instead, I felt relieved.
The man who had controlled my confidence for three years no longer had a place in my life.
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For the first time, I didn't need him to regret losing me.
I only needed him to stay gone.
