Kate stood in a darkened hall on the set of The Carla Bovari Show, listening to her introduction as her stomach cramped and fear pounded in her heart. She reached up and ran her fingers through her hair. Yesterday, she’d had her stylist chop off the blonde lengths that had been her signature for so long. He’d added rich honeyed tones, with long layers and a loose curl that just kissed the tops of her shoulders.

A new look for the new Kate.

Carla’s voice echoed down the hallway. “Today, she’s here with us to set the record straight about her past and to tell us about her new charity to benefit victims of sexual assault. Ladies and gentlemen, Katherine Hayes.”

The audience erupted in applause, whistles, and shouts. It was deafening.

Kate’s heart lurched into her throat. She gulped a breath, wiped the moisture from her palms, and walked onto the brightly lit set.

The crowd rose to their feet, and the noise reached earsplitting levels.

Kate swept her gaze over them. A sea of faces smiled back at her. Fans who still loved and supported her, even now. Tears stung her eyes as she waved and blew kisses to them. Their enthusiasm, their support and love filled her like warm honey, thick and sweet inside her. It settled the butterflies beating frantically against her ribs. She stepped onto the stage and shook Carla Bovari’s hand.

Carla greeted her with a kiss on the cheek. They sat across from each other in overstuffed chairs, and the cameras swung into position. “Katherine, it’s wonderful to have you here with us today.”

“It’s great to be here.” Kate looked out at the crowd again, smiling as the vise around her chest eased.

“I know this is hard for you, so let’s cut straight to the chase,” Carla said, her expression serious. “You were assaulted as a teenager.”

Kate took a deep breath and blew it out. Here goes nothing. “Yes. When I was seventeen, my mother’s boyfriend beat and raped me.”

“I’m so sorry. Was he prosecuted?”

She unclenched her fingers from the fabric of her pink knit skirt. “No, he wasn’t. I was young and terrified. The man who attacked me was a police officer, and my mother believed his claim that I had seduced him. She threw me out of the house, so I left town. I came to New York and tried to put it behind me.”

“And were you able to?”

“No. It’s haunted me all these years. I’ve recently been diagnosed with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, and I’m in therapy to help me finally come to terms with what happened.”

Carla shook her head. “A police officer. What a terrible abuse of power. Katherine, if you could, would you press charges against him now?”

Kate shook her head. “The statute of limitations on rape in Connecticut is five years.”

Carla sat back in her chair and folded her hands across her knee. “That’s true. However, a new law in Connecticut eliminates the statute of limitations for sexual assault crimes in which DNA matching the accused was recovered. Was DNA found in your rape kit?”

Kate drew in a sharp breath. Her eyes darted to where Jenn sat in the front row, looking as shocked as Kate felt. “I…I don’t know.”

Her heart hammered. Jim hadn’t worn a condom.

Carla leaned forward. “Will you press charges?”

Cameras swung around, zooming in to catch her response. The studio was so quiet, she could hear the faint hum of the lights overhead. Kate dug her fingernails into the arms of her chair and gulped another breath. Her nostrils flared.

This was an ambush. Carla had deliberately left it out of her list of interview questions.

Welcome back to Hollywood, Kate, where ratings come first.

She thought of the girls watching, young girls afraid to face their attackers, girls who looked to Kate as their inspiration. Her ribs ached from the pounding of her heart. She cleared her throat and raised her eyes. “Yes. If there’s DNA, I will press charges.”

The audience erupted in applause.

Carla smiled. “I hope he gets what he deserves.”

---

Kate’s knees shook as she walked back to her dressing room.

“You were fantastic,” Jenn whispered. “Welcome back.”

“I hope Harry rips her a new one for dropping that bombshell on me out there.”

Jenn patted her back. “Oh, he will. He was on the phone with a producer before you went off the air. She got her facts right though, Kate. I checked during the commercial break.”

She swallowed. “Really?”

“Really. Get the bastard.”

Kate drew a shaky breath. “After all this time?”

“Hell yes. I’m proud of you. You did great today.”

Kate exhaled. Her body felt like she’d gone three rounds with a heavyweight boxer, but she’d done it. And it felt damn good to take control.

No more hiding. No more secrets.

If only Josh could be here to share this with her. At that moment, she would have given anything to feel his arms around her. She hugged herself instead, swallowing past the tightness in her throat.

Jenn stopped at the doorway to Kate’s dressing room. “The car will be here in about ten minutes.”

She went inside and grabbed a bottle of water, gulped half of it, then sat and spent a few minutes composing herself. Her whole body shook with the aftermath of all the adrenaline. While she waited for the car, she checked her messages and found a voicemail from Lori.

“My mother just called and told me she’s checked into rehab. She wouldn’t say anything except that it was all taken care of, so I assume you had something to do with this.” Her voice wobbled. “Thank you, Kate. This means more to me than you could ever know.”

Kate pressed a hand to her heart. It had been the very least she could do, and she was so relieved that Lori’s mother had actually followed through. When Jenn came for her a few minutes later, she went home bone tired and walking on air. It had been a hell of a first day back in the spotlight.

Harry was waiting in her living room. He described in comedic detail the verbal lashing he’d given Carla and her producer. Then his expression sobered. “You were fantastic today. I mean it.”

“Thanks.”

He rested a hand on her leg. “Don’t ever sell yourself short, because it took a lot of guts to do what you just did.”

A lump rose in her throat as she nodded.

He leaned back. “I had a little chat with Doreen’s boyfriend, Fred Matarazzo, and it turns out Marin Starr’s team was behind the smear campaign against you. They hired him to dig up dirt on you.”

She gasped. Of course. It should have been obvious. The girl was oozing bad vibes when Kate met her that night at Velvet. “Wow, I’d have done most anything to make it to the top, but this? That’s messed up.”

“Unfortunately, not illegal. From what I gather, your mom was just a pawn in their game. I’m not sure how much she even knew of what was going on.”

She nodded, breathing through the pain. “I wish…well, I wish a lot of things, but it doesn’t make a damn difference now, does it?”

“You did the best you could in an impossible situation. Do you want to make a statement about any of this? About Marin Starr’s involvement?”

“No. What’s done is done. I’m finished with tabloid drama for this lifetime, but…shit.”

“What?”

She pressed a hand over her eyes, shaking her head. “I knew something was off that night at Velvet. I had a few drinks, but I know how to handle alcohol. Marin gave me a drink. She must have spiked it with something so that I’d look like a hot mess in front of the paparazzi.”

Harry’s eyes hardened. He looked ready to kill. “Do you have evidence?”

“No, but I’d never felt like that before. I was…well, in retrospect, I guess I was tripping on whatever she gave me. I was under so much stress at the time—and so embarrassed about those tabloid pictures—that I just tried to forget about the whole thing. I never really gave it much thought, or I might have realized it sooner.”

“I’ll have a few words with her manager.” Color crept up his neck into his cheeks, and a muscle next to his eye twitched.

Kate didn’t envy Marin’s manager. “Fine, but nothing beyond that. I mean it. I’m finished being tabloid fodder. And besides, it will give me that much more satisfaction when I kick her ass at all the awards shows next year.”

She’d show Marin what a real star was made of.