se. My first stop wasn't a friend's couch or a cheap motel. It was "Silicon Valley Star

man in her fifties with a no-nonsen

off?" She smiled, then saw my face. "Honey,

I said, handing her a folded l

why? Did something happen? Is it abou

eyes. "My mom pas

desk and gave me a hug. It felt good, a moment of g

just... I can't work here anymore. It's too many memori

tter, then at me, her

g I probably should have told you a while ago. But M

I frowned. "The

. "No, honey. Blake

cold. "What

whole chain. He bought it three years ag

opposite her desk, m

earning minimum wage plus tips, desperately tryi

.. w

is involvement wasn't public. He said he didn't want i

. Another lay

something on her computer. "He had a special arran

rds me. It was a spreadshe

rned, any overtime, any raises you were due

nded. "Where

' account, he called it. He said he was managing it

rly Performance Bonus: $2000." She then highlighted another

usand d

unt I needed

had *earne

ely taken mine, money that could have saved my mother, an

ria said softly. "That he was b

lies, built while

, the sheer, calculated

tively sabotaged me, controlled my finances, my life, whil

hoarse. "Can you print t

ht you should know, Emily.

of my diverted earnings, a new kind of anger began to

going to get