Chapter 5: The File She Hid
I didn’t sleep that night.
Not because of the document.
Because of what it represented.
A piece of my past I thought was buried.
The next morning, I sat alone in my office with a cup of coffee that had gone cold.
The document Claire sent was an old employment report.
Seventeen years old.
Back when I was still in high school.
Back when I applied for a scholarship program that could have changed everything.
I remembered that year clearly.
I was seventeen.
Exhausted.
Working after school.
Trying to convince people I deserved a chance.
The scholarship was supposed to help students with financial difficulties attend a private business program.
I had made it to the final round.
Until suddenly, I was rejected.
The letter said another candidate had stronger qualifications.
I believed it.
Because people like me were used to hearing no.
But now, looking at the document in front of me, I saw something I had never seen before.
A recommendation note.
A private comment.
And a signature.
Lauren Pierce.
My hands went cold.
The note was short.
Cruel.
“She lacks the confidence and background necessary for leadership opportunities.””
I read it again.
Then again.
A seventeen-year-old girl had decided my future based on where I came from.
A knock interrupted me.
“Maya?””
I looked up.
Daniel entered.
“You look like you haven’t slept.””
“I didn’t.””
He noticed the papers.
“What happened?””
I pushed the document toward him.
He read it.
His expression changed.
“Is this real?””
“I don’t know.””
“But the signature…”
“I know.””
Daniel sat down.
“Did she know this would affect you?””
“I don’t know.””
But part of me did.
Because Lauren had always known exactly where to strike.
Later that afternoon, I met Claire at a small coffee shop across town.
She arrived carrying a folder.
She looked nervous.
“Thank you for coming.””
I nodded.
“Tell me why you called.””
Claire opened the folder.
“I used to work with Lauren at Pierce & Cole.””
“How long?””
“Five years.””
“And why did you leave?””
She looked down.
“Because I found out what she was doing.””
“What was she doing?””
Claire pulled out several papers.
“She would identify clients or employees she thought were inconvenient. Then she would quietly damage their reputation.””
“That’s a serious accusation.””
“I know.””
She looked directly at me.
“That’s why I kept records.””
I studied her.
“Why help me?””
She hesitated.
“Because someone helped me.””
“Who?””
She didn’t answer immediately.
Then she said,
“A woman named Elena Thompson.””
My heart stopped.
My mother.
“What?””
“Your mother.””
I stared at her.
“My mother never worked with you.””
“No.””
Claire shook her head.
“She helped me when nobody else would.””
I felt my throat tighten.
My mother had died six years earlier.
There were still things about her life I didn’t know.
“What does my mother have to do with Lauren?””
Claire opened another file.
“This.””
Inside was an email.
From Lauren.
Years ago.
The subject line made my stomach drop.
*Regarding Maya Thompson.*
I read the first sentence.
And everything changed.
“Lauren didn’t just think you were beneath her.””
Claire whispered.
“She was afraid of you.””
I looked up.
“Afraid?””
Claire nodded.
“She knew you were talented.””
That made no sense.
“If she knew that, why try to stop me?””
Claire’s expression turned serious.
“Because people like Lauren don’t always attack those they think are weak.””
She pushed the email toward me.
“Sometimes they attack people they know could become stronger than them.””
I looked at the words on the page.
A seventeen-year-old version of Lauren had tried to close doors before I even reached them.
But one question kept bothering me.
Why?
Why me?
Why had she spent so many years trying to keep me small?
Then Claire said something that made my entire body go still.
“Maya, there’s something else.””
“What?””
“She wasn’t the only person involved.””
I looked at her.
“What do you mean?””
Claire lowered her voice.
“The person who approved Lauren’s recommendation…”
She paused.
“Was someone you know.””
My phone suddenly rang.
I looked at the screen.
May you like
The name appearing there made my blood run cold.
Lauren Pierce.
