A seat at the table

Money

True's emotional breakdown instantly pauses, her teary eyes narrowing as she glares at the glowing screen.

"Wait. Who is texting you right now?"

"Nobody," I say quickly, reaching past her head and flipping the phone face down onto the nightstand.

The sudden movement breaks our heavy huddle on the floor. I lean back against the side of the bed, crossing my arms.

"Just some glitchy residue from last night. Forget about it. Let's focus on you.

"True lets out a long, ragged breath, shifting until she's sitting cross-legged on the carpet, pulling at a loose thread on her sleeve.

The brief flash of gossip-fueled energy fades, and the stark reality of her situation settles right back into the space between us.

"I need an investment, Leah," she says, her voice dropping into a register that sounds terrifyingly serious. "Like, a real one. Something sustainable. A business, a tech startup, an estate franchise—I don't care what it is, but I need to put my money into something that yields returns away from my dad's account."

I frown, looking down at her. "True, you have time. We can look at portfolio options next month—"

"No, we can't," she interrupts, looking up with wide, completely sober eyes.

"You know DUIs are public records. It's going to be logged in the system. Even if Bauer keeps the local police precinct quiet, the court registry updates are accessible online. And even if my dad doesn't check public court records, Sasha definitely will."

A cold spike of disgust hits my stomach at the mention of the name. Sasha. Her father's twenty-something personal assistant, who was currently sleeping her way into an unearned inheritance by occupying the master bedroom in their family estate.

"She is looking for any reason to completely eliminate me," True hisses, her knuckles turning white. "If she sees my name attached to a public arraignment notice, she will print it out, frame it, and hand it to him with his morning tea. He will use it as a golden ticket to cut my monthly transfers to zero. If I don't build my own independent financial safety net right now, I am completely at her mercy."

"Hey," I say firmly, sliding off the edge of the bed to match her level on the floor. I grab her by the shoulders, shaking her slightly until she looks at me. "Stop it. Look at me. We are going to navigate this. Is the formal court hearing tomorrow?"

True chews on her inner lip, looking completely lost.

"I... I don't think so? Bauer mentioned something about an arraignment being the next major step after the initial booking and bail release, but my phone has been completely off since last night.

I was too terrified to turn it on. I didn't want to see a notification from my dad, or worse, a public registry alert with my name on it."