Madeline knew that Brandon was thinking this. She could release this photo. Set up a press conference and give a speech about being sexually harassed at her hotel by a black man. This would lead to outrage in her constituency and wide support for the poor young mother who couldn’t even do her job without being attacked. It would give fuel for her SAVER Bill, which would be spoken about in context of how black criminals are treated. Should she do this, her blackmailer would be beaten. He couldn’t release the previous photos to the media—people would see them as more proof of her harassment. No one would believe she was unfaithful. Her campaign relaunch would be stronger than ever, as women would rally behind her—now a champion for harassment survivors everywhere. This was a sound political strategy. Madeline knew Jane would give her this same recommendation and she knew Brandon would stand behind her and hold her hand as she told the world of her assault.
But could she do that? To Brandon? Even if Brandon didn’t believe her, he would stand by her. He knew their success relied on them being a united couple. His company benefited from the publicity of his wife’s career. It would only benefit more as she climbed up the ladder. And his family—longtime supporters of the Republican Party—also benefitted. He had cousins in office. A nasty divorce would only make his family angry. Could she do it to Hunter? Surely he would be hunted by the press, the police, the angry public. If the police found him, his encounter with them would give Madeline much to talk about in promoting her SAVER Bill—how she still had compassion for her assailant and wished he be treated fairly. He would be ruined. No one would listen to his protests, his explanations. No one would believe a black man from Harlem over a beautiful white female from a wealthy Californian suburb.
As Madeline began to see it, either her life or Hunter’s would be ruined. But there had to be another way. She always believed that if you don’t like your options, create a new one. That was what she would do now, she decided. She wasn’t sure if this new option would work. If it would avoid her ruin, but it was worth a shot. This option began with her telling Brandon—not everything—and ended with resolving the blackmail case one way or another.
“I wasn’t attacked,” Madeline said to Brandon, who didn’t understand what his wife was about to tell him. “Let’s sit down.” He complied and sat across from Madeline at their square kitchen table and folded his hands in his lap and Madeline began her story. Because that’s what it was: a story.
“The man in this picture is named Hunter,” she started. “We were involved when I studied at Columbia. He is also a politician, a city councilman in New York.” Up until then, Madeline was truthful as she was trying to decide what to say next. Then the truth started to bend off a tangent. “The blackmail is also against him. Someone wants to use him to ruin my career. When I was in New York this week, we met to talk. But nothing happened. He walked me to my hotel room and we hugged, but nothing happened.” Madeline rationalized to herself that she wasn’t lying, nothing had happened the night before with Hunter even though they were so close.
Brandon narrowed his eyes at her, a look showing that he was deciding how much he should believe, how much of a chump he was going to be. He loved Madeline, he truly saw her as the love of his life, and it didn’t hurt that his love helped him succeed.
“OK,” was what he said. He stood up from the table. “I have to get back to work. There’s a meeting in the office I need to get to.” Madeline nodded and he left the kitchen, grabbing his laptop from the living room and walking out the front door. Madeline sat quietly trying to examine whether her husband believed her or if she had lost him. She didn’t have much time to think quietly, as soon her phone rang.
“Hope you got home all right,” Jane started as soon as Madeline answered the phone. “Sorry to bother you, I know you wanted some family time when you got home, but I have Officer Austin on the other line. He says he wants to talk to you about a picture. I told him you were busy and that we didn’t get any pictures at the office, but he said he thought you’d want to talk to him.”
Chapter 25
Madeline had never been to the offices at the Fraternal Order of Police. The headquarters were near the local police station, a small two-story building with a training center for policemen in the first floor and halls and offices on the second. In the hallway were headshots of the organization’s members, smiling men in their uniforms and badges. Followed by Jane, Madeline walked down the hall toward Officer Austin’s office and knocked on the open door.
“Yup,” he answered, looking up from a file he was reading on his desk. “I didn’t know running for office included so much paperwork.”
“It’s important to have a good team for that,” she smiled, hoping to find some common ground. He motioned her to come in and she sat across from him. Jane stood in the doorway texting away on her phone.
“I’m not sure you want her in for this,” Officer Austin motioned to Jane. She took the not-so-subtle hint and stepped outside, promising to be available if needed. She closed the door behind her.
“I understand you want to speak about a photo of me,” Madeline said.
“Yes, let’s cut to the chase, neither of
