Melinda’s POV
Reputation is a strange thing.
It takes years to build.
One second to lose.
And sometimes, even after you’ve earned it back, it belongs more to the public than to you.
After the story broke about Andrew’s secret trust, something shifted. The press went quiet. The narrative finally stopped twisting.
People started saying things like “we always believed her.”
They didn’t.
But I wasn’t here for apologies.
I was here to build.
And that’s exactly what the city was offering.
“Melinda,” Carrie said, bursting into my office, phone in hand. “The mayor’s team wants a meeting. Now.”
I blinked. “What about?”
She handed me her phone.
An email open on the screen.
Subject: URGENT — Downtown Housing Initiative
Beneath it:
A city-backed proposal.
A massive project.
Forty-mi
