Three months ago, I found six hundred dollars under a mattress upstairs.”
He nodded.
“I remember.”
“I turned in every dollar.”
“I know.”
“You wrote a note saying I was an example to the staff.”
“I remember.”
“Then how does one accusation erase everything you know about me?”
Mr. Bennett didn’t answer.
That silence was his answer.
I was fired that afternoon.
Nothing had been proven.
No ring had been found.
Nobody had caught me stealing anything.
But Vanessa walked away satisfied.
And I walked out of the hotel without a job.
My final paycheck wasn’t enough to cover even half my rent after daycare and taxes.
I stood at the bus stop doing the math.
Then I realized I couldn’t bear sitting on a bus trying not to cry in front of strangers.
So I walked.
It was a long walk.
That gave me plenty of time to be
