Chapter 214

In the Harbinger HQ, in one of the studio sets arranged to look like a fancy living room, Daphne and I sit side by side on a white couch, facing an interviewer, a woman interviewer named Jean, who sits on an arm chair facing us.

The setting is intimate, and Jean is a kind, middle-aged woman, who is known more for her fluff pieces and feel-good stories more than her hard-hitting interviews. Given the circumstances, Hugo thought she might be the best choice for this particular assignment.

Jean is soft-spoken and kind, able to easily convey understanding and sympathy with only her expression. For this interview, a softer touch was definitely needed, given the subject matter. Especially since much of the abuse happened when Daphne and I were children.

I wasn’t sure she’d even want a job like this, as the happier stories seemed to be her preference, but as Hugo described it, when he had approached her for this particularly interview, she listened intently and then agreed without question.

She’d told Hugo, “Stories like these deserve to be told. I would be honored to support these women.”

Hugo later conveyed to me his surprise. He’d hoped she would agree, but thought it a fairly safe bet that she would not.

Knowledge of that interaction and her words endeared me to her instantly. Before I only knew her from watching her segments or passing her in the halls while I worked at Harbinger’s. Now, I am happy to know she is an advocate for abuse victims.

Even when the abuser is someone as famous and well-regarded as Edward Zimmer.

Even though Hugo’s last name is on the sigh, all of Harbinger News Company is taking a chance promoting this story. Even Mr. Geoffrey warned us, after Daphne and I conferred with him about this interview, that Edward would likely attempt to sue.

He also told us to go for it though, stating that the Harbinger organization has more than enough money and power to defend themselves. If Edward comes for Daphne and me – Mr. Geoffrey is ready and waiting to stand up to him in court.

“Good evening,” Jean says to the camera. “Welcome to a very special interview where tonight I sit down with two unlikely allies and friends, who are bound by a dark, traumatic past and a shared abuser.” Looking at us, she says, “Daphne. Esther. Thank you for joining us here tonight.”

“Thank you for having me,” I say with practiced ease.

“Thank you,” Daphne says, following my lead. Her experience with the press is limited. She shared with me before that Edward rarely let her speak to anyone without prepping her beforehand. Oftentimes, she had a script to memorize. Usually the reporter was in on it.

This is entirely new for her. And the subject matter didn’t make the experience any easier for her.

Jean glances between us, subtly leaving it up to us to decide who should get to start. We both look at Daphne, but she looks down.

I open my mouth, ready to take some of the pressure off of her, when Daphne speaks up.

“My husband, Edward Zimmer, is not the man everyone believes himself to be. He himself has pushed forward the image that he is a saint who has only ever helped people. After all, he ran an orphanage, right? So he must be a good person.”

Daphne lifts her head and looks straight at the camera, her eyes burning with determination. In an instant, her fear is gone and in its place is the spirit of the buried girl and woman who has been beat down and shoved around for year. Now, she’s looking for vengeance.

And she’ll have it.

“My husband is not a kind man. He’s about as far from a good person as anyone could get. I know, not just as his wife, but as one of the kids who grew up in that orphanage he ran. Esther and I both did,” Daphne says. “It’s there that we suffered sexual abuse at the hands of Edward and the men who paid him.”

Jean was warned about the story, but she still gasped. My eyes went a little wide. We came here to talk about this, but Daphne’s direct wording leaves me speechless.

Daphne didn’t come here just to tell a story. She was ready to reveal her truth, once and for all.

“Esther and I were victims,” Daphne continues. “Esther escaped, but I remained his victim for years…”

After the interview, Daphne and I take solace in Hugo’s office, sitting in the two chairs facing his desk. Hugo sits behind it, with his elbows on his desktop and his hands pressed together near his chin.

“If the comments on the livestreams and social media are anything to go by, many people who had been pro-Edward are reconsidering their choice,” Hugo says. During the interview, he and his team were watching their phones, gathering data. “With his own wife turning against him, they are beginning to see that there is more darkness in Edward than they thought.”

“Many people, you said,” Daphne says. “Not all.”

“Unfortunately, no,” Hugo replies. He lowers his hands down to the desk. “Zimmer’s core supporters continue to back him. They justify it by doubting your honesty.”

Seeing Daphne frown, I say, “We knew there would be people who don’t believe us, but we pushed on anyway. We did well here. We spread our truth.”

“Over the next few days, my company will release the evidence we’ve uncovered that helps back your claims. It’s not enough to convict someone in a court, but it is certainly enough to help the public piece to together the truth,” Hugo says.

“If they even want the truth,” Daphne replies. “I think maybe they’d rather keep their heads in the sand and continue to believe Edward is the man they want him to be, even with all the evidence that proves the contrary.”

“We can only do what we can do,” Hugo says. Standing, he starts for the door. “If you’ll excuse me for a moment, I’ll check the latest poll numbers.” He steps out of the room, closing the door gently behind him.

With him gone, Daphne and I glance at each other.

“Esther, I –” she starts, just as I say, “Daphne, we –”

We both stop.

“You go,” I say.

“No, you,” she replies.

To keep us from falling into an endless loop, I accept her offer.

“I never would have been able to do this without you. I’ve thought about coming forward so many times, but… It’s so difficult to stand alone,” I say. “Even with Miles’s support, I wavered. I needed someone with me who had been there. You didn’t just believe me, you knew I said the truth, because it also happened to you.”

“We’re friends, Esther,” Daphne says. “It took me a while, to come around. But we’ve always been friends and we’re always going to be friends.”

I smile at her. It is shaky, given how exhausted I am after today’s events, but it is genuine.

Daphne is my friend. “That’s never going to change,” I tell her.

She smiles back at me, just a little.

“What are you going to do now?” I ask her.

“After the divorce? I think I’ll travel. Edward never wanted to go abroad. I’m ready to see what else is out there.”

“That sounds amazing,” I say, encouraging her as I can. After being Edward’s victim for her entire life, she deserves every last ounce of independence she can find.

“What about you, Esther?” Daphne asks. “Back to the campaign trail? Back to Miles?”

“Yes,” I say. For the first time aloud, I hear myself admit, “I think Miles might be my forever.”