Chapter 15 - THE PRESS CONFERENCE
Andrew called his own press conference two weeks after the gala.
He stood on the steps outside his attorney’s office.
Behind him were framed photographs of children he had treated.
The symbolism was shameless.
He denied everything.
He called the accusations distorted.
He called the security footage incomplete.
He claimed the bruises could have come from accidents.
He described former employees as financially motivated.
Then he mentioned me.
“Ava Monroe and I shared a private relationship that had challenges like any other.”
I watched from Naomi’s office.
Andrew continued.
“I regret arguments between us.”
“I regret words said in frustration.”
“But I never abused her.”
My fingers tightened around the armrest.
Then a reporter shouted.
“What about the threat recorded during the phone call?”
Andrew smiled sadly.
“I was a devastated fiancé whose future wife had disappeared with another man.”
My stomach turned.
He continued.
“I hope Ava receives the support she needs.”
That sentence broke something in me.
Not because it was cruel.
Because it was familiar.
Andrew had always hurt me and then spoken as if my reaction were the illness.
I stood.
Naomi looked up.
“Where are you going?”
“To talk.”
“You don’t owe anyone a press statement.”
“I know.”
“Then why?”
I looked at the screen.
“Because I’m tired of hearing him tell my story.”
Two hours later, cameras filled a Carter Foundation briefing room.
Ethan offered me the main stage.
I refused.
Instead, I stood behind a plain lectern with Naomi beside me.
No dramatic backdrop.
No photographs.
No foundation logo.
Just me.
When the cameras went live, my hands were cold.
“My name is Ava Monroe.”
Flashes fired.
“I am not here to ask the public to decide a criminal case.”
“I am not here to ask anyone to hate Dr. Andrew Vaughn.”
“I am here because he has repeatedly spoken publicly about my private experience.”
I looked directly into the cameras.
“So I will say this once.”
“I did not leave Andrew Vaughn for Ethan Carter.”
“I left because I was afraid of Andrew Vaughn.”
The room became silent.
“I stayed longer than people may understand.”
“I lied for him.”
“I defended him.”
“I smiled beside him in photographs.”
“I wore an engagement ring.”
“None of those facts mean I consented to being threatened or hurt.”
A reporter raised her hand.
I continued.
“I also want to say something about Mr. Carter.”
Ethan stood behind the cameras.
Our eyes met.
“He did not rescue me.”
Ethan’s expression softened.
“He opened the wrong door.”
A few reporters glanced at one another.
“He saw something I had hidden.”
“After that, he gave me choices.”
“That is different.”
I swallowed.
“The women who helped me were an attorney, a security professional, a doctor who had previously reported Andrew, a former hospital employee, my mother, and many others.”
“This is not a story about one powerful man defeating another.”
“It is a story about what happens when one person’s public reputation becomes more important than the people telling the truth about him.”
I stepped away.
Questions exploded.
Naomi ended the conference.
Backstage, I leaned against the wall.
My legs were shaking.
Ethan approached.
“You said I didn’t rescue you.”
“You didn’t.”
“I know.”
He smiled.
“I liked hearing it.”
I looked at him.
“Most billionaires would be offended.”
“I’m trying to improve the reputation of the species.”
I laughed.
Then I started crying.
He stopped.
“Can I hug you?”
The question nearly destroyed me.
Not the hug.
The question.
“Yes.”
He wrapped his arms around me carefully.
Nothing hurt.
Nothing was forced.
For several seconds, I let myself stay there.
Then his phone rang.
He released me immediately.
Naomi answered hers at the same time.
Her expression changed.
“What?”
I asked.
May you like
She looked at me.
“The grand jury returned an indictment.”
