Grown(71)

I flip him over and stab his underbelly, but there’s already a hole. One I never noticed before.

The door flings open right as I grab a handful of Flounder guts.

“On the ground! On the ground now!”

“Drop your weapon!”

And inside the fluff of fish guts . . . is a camera.





Chapter 88


State Your Name for the Record




Transcript–June 10

Gabriela Garcia: Am I free to go yet?

Detective Fletcher: Hang on, now. Why doesn’t anyone at your school remember you?

Gabriela: I don’t know. Ask them.

Fletcher: And what’s the story behind your name again?

Gabriela: OK, fine. My full name is Olivia Gabriela Garcia-Hill. Growing up, I always went by Gabby Garcia. But when I enrolled at Parkwood, my dad wanted me to use a nice white name at a white school. So, I went by Olivia Hill . . . to everyone but Chanty.

Fletcher: And you never told Enchanted? Thought you two were best friends?

Gabriela: I don’t know, guess I was . . . embarrassed that I let my dad, who was barely around, talk me into being something that I’m not while Enchanted was all super talented, had this amazing family, and wasn’t afraid to be herself.

Fletcher: Why’d you wait to come forward?

Gabriela: Like all the other girls, I was scared. And it’s not like you instantly believe us. When we say, ‘Hey, I was raped,’ you say, ‘Are you sure?’ Way to make us feel safe, Mr. Officer.

Fletcher: But you weren’t reporting a rape.

Gabriela: Last time I checked, it wasn’t legal to seduce an underage girl.

Fletcher: That’s not what I . . . I mean.

Gabriela: It’s just interesting how you assume a girl is crazy rather than believing her the first time she tells you something. Enchanted is, what, your sixteenth victim? It took sixteen girls to tell you something, and she had to risk her life to prove you idiots wrong.

Fletcher: She had multiple opportunities to report her abuse. To walk away from her mistreatment. She could’ve come to us.

Gabriela: OK, what if it was me? What if I came in here, said my name is Olivia Hill and told you about Korey? You’d hear my name, look at my white skin, never expecting I’m a Latina, and he’d be in lockup within hours. But a black girl like Enchanted, she didn’t stand a chance. I see that now, and here I am, putting my white name to good use to tell you you’re all a bunch of assholes.

Fletcher: This isn’t about race. This is about the truth!

Gabriela: The truth? Ha! It’s funny the crazy lengths y’all go through to disprove a black girl rather than just taking her word for it. Enchanted didn’t deserve this. You made her question her sanity. Made her family and friends question her sanity. You’re just as bad as Korey with your brainwashing bullshit.

Fletcher: Whatever you say. It still doesn’t explain how she saw Korey onstage with her at the talent showcase.





Chapter 89


Princesses Must Save Themselves




Flounder recorded seventy-five minutes of footage. Positioned toward the bed, there was a crystal-clear view of Korey punching me in the face, then Richie opening the penthouse door from the studio . . . using the key fob Jessica gave him. Its battery died right as Richie shoved the knife into Korey’s chest.

Richie was arrested. So was a thirty-five-year-old Jessica.

With all the bad press and Korey’s obsession with me spiraling, a scorned Jessica saw the perfect opportunity to kill the man who broke his promise of stardom, pinning it on the girl who took her place. The murder would also guarantee Richie’s documentary would be an instant hit. They planned to live happily ever after in the Hollywood Hills, managing Korey’s estate. But once caught, Jessica sang like a humpback.

Love is complicated.

Will and Willow collected names and stories from several girls nationally who claimed they’d been with Korey Fields. With most of the black parents being wealthy and well connected, it added fuel to the fire of a growing case.

A box of Korey Fields’s digital memory cards was recovered in the home he shared with his wife. There were dozens of them. Dozens of girls he recorded over his entire career.

Not nearly the number who have come forward.





Chapter 90


The Truth




Even though it’s summer, I feel like spring.

I feel like a plant being brought back to life, blooming and growing. The smell of sweet flowers, fresh earth, and new beginnings mixed with lemon icy and the fierce love of a mother and father.

More women come forward. KA moves to ban Korey Fields’s music across all platforms. Radios refuse to play him, and debates carry on over social media. Or so I’ve heard.

Mr. Pulley didn’t have to fight too hard to cancel my contract with the label. They quietly let it go, sending along a sizable check to cover any inconveniences. It helps to keep Shea in school and in Will and Willow. I won’t be going back. I plan to pursue music full-time, since I’m free, full, and whole.

“Bloop! Another girl came forward,” Gabriela says, nose in her phone. “Second girl this week.”

Gabriela and I share a veggie plate on my porch as the Littles play in the front yard. Last time I’ll see her for the next few weeks. Planning to spend the summer with Grandma in Far Rockaway, to find my voice and return to the sea where I belong before Louie releases my EP in the fall.