He could see now that she was facing the same dilemma so many he approached faced—flee this lunatic or hear him out? Most of the time, curiosity won them over, but he never knew how it would go.
Michaela Siegel shook her head and voiced that dilemma. “Why am I still talking to you?”
“They say I have an honest face.”
It was true. That was why it was almost always he who took on this task. Eduardo and Merton had strengths, but if they approached you like this, your first instinct would be to run fast.
“That’s what I used to think about David. That he had an honest face.” She tilted her head. “Who are you?”
“That’s not important.”
“Why are you here? This is all in my past.”
“No,” he said.
“No?”
“It’s not in your past. I wish it was.”
Her voice was a scared whisper. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“You and David broke up.”
“Well, duh,” she snapped. “I’m getting married to Marcus this weekend.”
She showed him the engagement ring on her finger.
“No,” the stranger said. “I mean . . . I’m not saying this right. Do you mind if I go through it step-by-step?”
“I don’t care how honest your face is,” Michaela said. “I don’t want to rehash this.”
“I know.”
“It’s behind me.”
“It’s not. Not yet, anyway. That’s why I’m here.”
Michaela just stared at him.
“Were you and David broken up when . . . ?” He didn’t know how to put it, so he just sort of moved his hands back and forth.
“You can say it.” Michaela straightened her back. “It’s called revenge porn. I’m told it’s quite the craze.”
“That’s not what I’m asking,” the stranger said. “I’m asking about the state of your relationship before he put that video online.”
“Everyone saw it, you know.”
“I know.”
“My friends. My patients. My teachers. Everyone at the hospital. My parents . . .”
“I know,” the stranger said softly. “Were you and David Thornton broken up?”
“We’d had a big fight.”
“That’s not what I asked.”
“I don’t get—”
“Were you two broken up before that video went public?”
“What difference does it make now?”
“Please,” the stranger said.
Michaela shrugged. “I don’t know.”
“You still loved him. That’s why it hurt so much.”
“No,” she said. “It hurt so much because it was a terrible betrayal. It hurt so much because the man I was dating went on a revenge porn site and put up a sex tape of us doing . . .” She stopped. “Can you imagine? We had a fight, and that was how he reacted.”
“He denied putting it up, right?”
“Of course he did. He didn’t have the courage—”
“He was telling you the truth.”
There were people around them. One guy stepped in an elevator. Two women hurried outside. A concierge was behind the desk. They were all there, and right now, none of them were there.
Her voice was distant, hollow. “What are you talking about?”
“David Thornton didn’t put that tape online.”
“Are you a friend of his or something?”
“I’ve never seen or spoken to him.”
Michaela swallowed. “Are you the one who posted the video?”
“No, of course not.”
“Then how can you—?”
“The IP address.”
“What?”
The stranger took a step closer to her. “The site claims to keep the user’s IP address anonymous. That way, no one can know or prosecute the person who put it up.”
“But you know?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
“People think a site is anonymous because the site says so. That’s a lie by definition. Behind every secret site on the Internet, there is a human being monitoring every keystroke. Nothing is really secret or anonymous.”
Silence.
They were there now. The stranger waited. It wouldn’t be long. He could see the quake by her mouth.
“So whose IP address was it?”
“I think you know already.”
Her face twisted up in pain. She closed her eyes. “Was it Marcus?”
The stranger didn’t answer yes or no. There was no need.
“They were close friends, weren’t they?” the stranger said.
“Bastard.”
“Roommates, even. I don’t know the exact details. But you and David fought. Marcus saw an opportunity and seized it.” The stranger reached into his pocket and pulled out an envelope. “I have the proof right here.”