She returned to the hospital room and nced at Joshua.


    "Joshua, what do you want for lunch? I can go pick something up for you."


    The man''s deep, clear eyes settled on her. "Are you nning to expose Rachel?"


    Ste didn''t hide anything. "Yes."


    He looked at her steadily. "Because of me?"


    She answered honestly, "You''re involved, but you''re not the only reason. You''re just the spark that set things off."


    Joshua pressed further, "But if this hadn''t happened, you wouldn''t be exposing Rachel right now, would you?"


    Ste didn''t deny it. She smiled. "That''s true, but it would only be a matter of weeks. It makes little difference. Better her fans see her for who she really is now —it might even save them the price of a ticket in the long run."


    Joshua lowered his head, his longshes shadowing his eyes. “So it''s still because of me."


    Ste thought he was ming himself, so she reached out to reassure him. "No matter what, you''re with me. If people around me can be framed for anything and get away with it, then anyone could walk all over us. You don''t need to feel guilty. If it hadn''t been you, it could just as easily have happened to Candida."


    Joshua ignored herstment, his voice unreadable. "Alright then."


    Thinking he''d epted it, Ste didn''t press further. "So, what do you want to eat? I''ll go get it."


    Joshua casually listed a few dishes, naming a restaurant halfway across town- almost an hour''s drive each way.


    Ste didn''t bat an eye at the distance. She just nodded without a trace ofint. "If you get hungry, have some fruit first. Call me if you need anything."


    "Okay."


    With that, Ste left the room.


    ...


    When she''d finally packed up the food and returned to the hospital, Ste had barely parked when her phone rang.


    It was Abby.


    "Star! Amazing news-huge news!"


    Abby sounded so excited she was practically tripping over her words.


    Steughed. "What''s got you so worked up? What happened?"


    Abby''s voice trembled with excitement. "I''ve been digging up dirt on Rachel, right? There were some videos and recordings, but the truly crucial evidence was always missing. Especially-proof that Rachel''s been faking her illness!"


    That particr secret was the key to all the sympathy and special


    treatment Rachel had received.


    ve


    She''d fooled not just Haynes and the others but all her fans, too. If anyone ever found concrete proof, Rachel''s reputation would be destroyed beyond repair


    But Rachel had always covered her tracks too well. Neither Ste nor


    Abby, nor even Antoney or Neville, had ever found anything substantial. Only Mr. Burton, when he''d


    examined Rachel, hadet


    she was faking, but when he''d tried to warn Haynes, Haynes had brushed him off, thinking Mr. Burton was just taking Ste''s side.


    now.


    To this day, Ste and Abby hadn''t been able to get anything on Rachel-until


    Abby''s voice rose again, even more breathless. "Star, just now, I got an anonymous email. The


    attachments-it''s all dirt on Rachel. And there''s even proof that she''s been faking her illness! I have no idea who sent it, but without it, no matter how much dirt we spread, it would never have been enough to really take Rachel down!"