Façade

Chapter 15

Mouths shut.

Eyes bright.

Look alive. Look ahead.

Smile.

Tell no one.

Emily and Daniel stepped out of the house, having gotten ready to address the press and, the rest of the public. They had prepared their statements, and were living by the simple Grayson rule for avoiding bad press. 'Deny, deny, deny.' They smiled, waved, and posed for pictures. Daniel was about to read his statement. He stepped forward and boomed 'It pains me to see meaningless conjecture like this, soiling my wife's good name. It is a horrible thing to have rumours about you spread around. It's even more horrible to be accused of living under an assumed identity. My beautiful, loving, trustworthy, and above all else, honest wife has been afflicted by just such rumours. What is more, it must be awful for the late Amanda Porter's family to have to bear witness to these hurtful slurs. My wife is Emily Grayson. Her name has always been Emily, and it always will.'

They didn't take questions, and went back inside.

The house seemed colder, not only due to the changing weather, but the atmosphere, it was cold, and tense. After all, they could deny whatever they wanted to, but the truth always manages to rear its ugly head.

Emily sat down on the couch and proceeded to call Nolan. 'Nolan, we have a problem. Someone leaked my real name to the press. I need you to do some digging' her voice getting sterner. On the other end of the phone, Nolan could be heard saying, 'On it, Ems. Whatever you need.'

Daniel ensconced himself next to her. 'Everything's going to be okay. I'll make sure of it' he put his hand on hers and held it with a firm but loving grip 'I won't let anything happen to you.' Emily tentatively rested her head on his shoulder, and sighed 'It never stops. It seems like we just keep fielding one news story about us after another.'

She seemed defeated. This strong, confident woman Daniel was proud to call his wife, had been reduced to this, self-pitying shadow of the woman he once knew, who held herself with a regal lioness-like stance. He was going to get to the bottom of this. He needed to know the answer.

Little did he know, however, that the answer he so desperately craved was not the one he really wanted to hear. It was to be the revelation that would break Emily Grayson down, even more than all of these previous events combined.

There was a tapping sound emanating from the front door. It was Nolan. He'd come around that way to avoid attracting anyone's attention. All he bore was a laptop, and a shocked expression.

Without saying anything, he bolted inside, and sat on the couch 'Ems. I've found it.' Nolan began to work himself into a panic-induced frenzy. 'They left a digital trail of breadcrumbs, and you won't believe it but-' he was stopped by Emily before he could continue.

Daniel edged closer and perched on the arm of the sofa. 'Stay calm Nolan, and tell me, what's going on?' Emily managed to subdue him, and he continued 'I found the leak. It's ...'

© Sarah Egan 2013 - 2014 This story is subject to copyright and may not be copied or reproduced without the express permission of the author.