Page 112 of Pride and Protest

“Tell me where she is,” Liza said. The elevator doors pulled open again on the third floor.

WIC’s gigantic eyes actually looked earnest. “She’s in Room 351.”

“Those were our granny’s and mother’s life savings,” Liza said. She prayed that Janae had time to take that money out.

WIC bowed his head. Men like this were experts at feigning remorse. She brushed past him—no longer interested in being his audience.

She shot straight for Room 351 and nearly cried out in relief when she saw Maurice limping down the hallway, dragging LeDeya behind him.

LeDeya was trying to pull away from Maurice. Her eyes rounded when she saw Liza. “Why are all of you here?”

“Let’s move,” Liza snapped with the authority of a drill sergeant. LeDeya, for once, did not give her any bull.

The car ride back to the airport was stonily silent. Every time LeDeya opened her mouth, Liza gave her a look that would curdle milk, and her mouth immediately closed again.

They climbed aboard the private jet in the same fashion, LeDeya forced into silence by the power of Liza’s and Maurice’s fury. Janae met them at the door.

“Janae, did you do it?” Liza asked, searching her sister’s eyes.

“Yes! One hundred fifty-six thousand dollars!” Janae sounded surprised at herself. “I just wired the one hundred right back to Dorsey.”

“Oh, Janae.” She squeezed her sister, but Janae turned around and grabbed LeDeya.

“And you! How dare you take Granny’s money? How dare you take Mom’s money? What on earth did you think you were doing?” Janae shouted. It was the angriest any of them had ever seen their sister, and LeDeya crumpled underneath Janae’s anger.

“No one is letting me talk!” she cried. “I just liked the stuff he was saying about being a proper lady. He called me Queen. He said I was a genius. None of you ever see how smart I am. I wanted to prove I could do something big for the family. After you got fired from the radio station—”

“Laid off,” Liza corrected.

“When the radio station let you go, I knew we were about to have all of those same arguments about money. I just wanted to help.”

“He is a swindler, LeDeya. Why do you think I stopped talking to him?”

“Youalwaysstop talking to guys that like you. He didn’t seem to be different!” LeDeya was sobbing.

“He had no plans to pay you. No plans to ever return Granny’s money,” Maurice said. Liza winced at the gravelly sound of his voice.

“I started to kind of figure that out. I changed the graphic on one of the Instagram videos so that the number was blurred. I thought the money would bounce away and not be deposited. No use anyone else getting scammed like I did.”

“Oh, Deya,” Liza said, softening her voice.

“WIC wouldn’t let me eat. He just kept saying stay a little longer.”

“Did he try any—” Maurice started.

“I promise you, all that dude sees are dollar signs.” She said this wistfully, as if perhaps she had tried. “Wait, Janae, is that an engagement ring?”

Trust LeDeya to take the heat off herself.

“Oh. Yes. Um, David and I are engaged,” Janae said shyly.

“He completely ditched you,” Liza and LeDeya said at the same time.

“You’re right, and he was wrong for that, but Jennifer embellished his relationship with Gigi a lot, and she was pretty active in keeping him occupied. His father was dying, and he closed up. He got really afraid, you know, and he said he didn’t know how I felt about him, and he chickened out.” Janae looked down. “He said he was also afraid I had an alcohol problem.”

“Why didn’t he just ask you?” Liza was not so willing to let that little weak-chinned scoundrel off the hook.

“I love how ride-or-die you are, Liza, but that’s a two-way street. I didn’t tell him anything about my past. I couldn’t tell him I loved him. I had his information. I just didn’t call.”