Chapter 9 - The Security Footage
The surgery lasted four and a half hours.
When I woke up in the recovery unit on Monday morning, my right arm was encased in a massive, rigid abduction brace that held my limb out at a forty-five-degree angle from my torso. The anesthesia left a metallic taste on my tongue, but through the haze of painkillers, I felt something I hadn't felt in fifteen years:
Peace.
Dr. Vance stopped by my bedside around noon, pulling up the post-operative imaging on his tablet.
"We had to place four titanium suture anchors into the glenoid bone," he explained. "The tendon was retracted nearly two inches from the joint surface. It was one of the most violent mechanical separations I've seen outside of high-speed motorcycle crashes. The good news is the repair is solid. The bad news is you have nine months of intensive rehabilitation ahead of you."
"Will I regain full range of motion?" I asked, my voice dry.
"With hard work? About ninety percent," he said honestly. "You won't be throwing a softball competitively, but you’ll be able to type, drive, and live your life. Provided you don't take any more dives into shallow water."
A knock came at the door.
It was Ryan. He was carrying a cardboard tray holding two large coffees and a bag of fresh blueberry muffins from the bakery down the street. He looked well-rested for the first time in three days, wearing a simple navy crewneck sweater and jeans.
"Morning," he said, offering a warm smile. "How’s the bionic shoulder?"
"Full of titanium," I managed a smile back. "Thank you for the coffee."
He set the food on the table, pulled up a chair, and sat down.
"The bail hearing was two hours ago," Ryan said quietly.
I looked at him, my heart skipping a beat. "What happened?"
"The judge set bail at fifty thousand dollars," Ryan said. "The prosecutor played the pool footage in open court. When the judge saw Paige clapping and laughing while you were underwater, she deemed Paige a reckless danger. Elaine tried to offer the deed to their house as collateral, but your dad refused to sign the paperwork."
I stared at him. "Dad refused?"
"He told Elaine that Paige needed to sit in a cell and think about what she had done," Ryan said. "He hired a separate defense attorney for Paige, but he refused to post bail. Elaine walked out of the courtroom screaming that she was going to stay at a hotel."
A heavy breath escaped my chest. For decades, my father had been the silent enabler, the man who signed the checks and looked away while my mother and sister tore down anyone who stood in their way. Seeing him finally draw a line felt surreal.
"And what about you, Ryan?" I asked. "What are you doing now?"
Ryan reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a clean, sealed envelope with the official seal of the Mercer Logistics Group.
"I spoke with the Port Authority board in Seattle this morning," Ryan said, setting the envelope on my blanket. "The regional director is an old friend of my father’s. When I explained what Paige had done—how she forged that email and lied about your capacity—they immediately reopened the position."
My eyes widened. "Ryan... they didn't give it to someone else?"
"They had two finalists, but neither of them had your credentials," Ryan said, his eyes crinkling at the corners. "The offer is yours, Marissa. Starting salary is twenty percent higher than the initial package to cover your remote transition while your arm heals. You can work from home for the first six months, then relocate to Seattle whenever you're ready."
Tears pricked my eyes, blurring the crisp white envelope. "I don't know what to say."
"Don't say anything," Ryan replied softly. "Just sign it when your hand stops shaking."
He looked at me for a long moment, an unreadable emotion passing through his dark eyes.
"There's one more thing," he added, his voice dropping an octave. "The police searched Paige’s phone when they processed her at the precinct."
I dried my eyes with my left sleeve. "What did they find?"
May you like
"Text messages," Ryan said, his jaw tightening. "Between Paige and Brooke. From six months ago. Long before the bike accident."
***
