Under the Spotlight

Chapter Eight

To say that Jeremiah is pissed would be grossly undermining the anger he is currently feeling right now. Since the moment that Seth Winston— the only son of the President of the United States— walked through the door, Jeremiah has been seething with rage. It's now obvious to the agent why Agent Sloane had been so afraid of running a background check on the actress.

Most of the time, it is easy for Jeremiah to forget how much politics affects his job. Who the president is ultimately does not matter to Jeremiah, since he focuses on catching criminals. On rare occasions, politics impacts his job and prevents him from doing it properly.

It appears that this may be one of those cases.

That's why the very sight of Seth causes Jeremiah's blood to boil. The sway that this man has over the FBI is far more than what should be allowed. Seth is essentially a nobody. The only special thing about him is that his father is the United States President. This man barely even spends any time in the United States, instead choosing to reside in London with his mother.

Jeremiah doubts that Seth would even care if they ran a background check on his ex-girlfriend. If Cassandra Sanchez has nothing to hide, then there is no harm in running a check on her. Especially if it allows them to catch the individual responsible for stalking the actress. Or if it helps them figure out her connection to Cameron Jacobs.

The agent is almost tempted to run the check himself, consequences be damned. So long as the case gets solved and another murderer is taken off the streets, Jeremiah is willing to face whatever consequence comes his way.

Then again, the consequence that he is almost certainly going to face would likely be his immediate termination, given the high profile individuals that are part of the case.

"Shit," Jeremiah mutters to himself. He leans against the sink of the bathroom attached to his guest room, staring at himself in the mirror. It's clear that this room does not see much use, given its minimal furnishing. The bedroom contains a dresser, a bed, and a mirror with no decorations adorning the room. The bathroom itself is nearly completely barren, save for the bath mat that sits on the floor.

For a woman of such a high tax bracket, she is very conservative over her decor. Every other room in the house is minimally decorated. Cassie has furniture, rugs, and a few picture frames. She has no plants or wall art of any kind.

Though, Jeremiah should not be surprised that her house is decorated in such a manner. She dresses like an average citizen. Her clothing is generic name brands that the general population can afford.

Nothing about the woman exudes wealth. If they had not met at Vain Studios, Jeremiah would have assumed that she was some sort of D list actor.

He has never cared much about celebrities. Majority of them are entitled assholes who have never had to work in their lives. So, he refuses to learn anything about them. Their drama, their lives, their names— none of that matters to him.

At least, it didn't until now.

When he looked her up the other day, Jeremiah had settled for learning her name. Maybe he should do a little more digging into the actress to learn more about her. It might even shed light into the strange dynamic she has with her ex-boyfriend.

Digging for his phone in his pocket, Jeremiah turns his back to the mirror. He wanders back into the guest room to lay on the bed, flopping onto the queen sized mattress. Though it likely doesn't get used, the mattress is surprisingly soft. His body instantly relaxes while he sinks into the mattress.

He types Cassie's name into the search bar and clicks on the first article that he can find. Cassie found herself suddenly homeless at the age of sixteen, the article reads. An orphan with no other family members, Cassie worked many odd jobs to keep herself fed until she stumbled upon an acting job at eighteen.