Sebastian receives a phone call. “Hello?” Suddenly his face sours, “Don’t touch anything! I’ll be right there!” He hangs up the phone and gets to his feet. He starts to leave, Penelope and Cross run into the room.
“Dad! Dad!” yells Penelope. “The fountain…”
“Shit…” Sebastian already knows as he runs out of the penthouse with both kids running right after him.
Walking out of her bedroom on the second floor, Jessica looks down over the banister, watching them leave.
She seems to already know what they’re going to find.
There is a crowd on the 20th floor of Madison Tower as everyone has heard the news of the banner hanging from the angel.
As Sebastian, Penelope and Cross walk out of the elevator, they see it as well.
“Layla Kwon was murdered at Madison Tower!”
There are some red smudges around to almost make it look like blood is smeared across the banner.
Residents are murmuring as Sebastian pushes his way to the front. He looks to Asher, “Get it down.”
“Yes, sir.”
Asher steps into the water and towards the banner.
Amber, Zoey, Chris, Kyle, and Angel are all there, so are the other college kids of Madison Tower. Everyone is talking about the banner as Asher brings it down from the statue and steps back out of the fountain.
Sebastian tells him, “Check it for fingerprints.”
Asher nods his head, “Yes, sir.” He carries the banner off.
Sebastian turns to his inner circle, “Who found it first?”
Zoey answers, “Sloane and Juliana were on their way to the pool.”
Kyle nods up at the video cameras, “Whoever did this? They knew how to manipulate the camera. They’ve all been turned around.”
“Or it’s someone who lives here,” Chris adds in.
Angel’s eyes go wide, “Does that mean there could be a witness?”
Chris scoffs, “Come on. We’d have heard by now if someone saw her fall.”
Zoey shakes her head, “Someone is using her death to tarnish the great name of Madison Tower.”
Amber snaps her finger and points at Zoey, “That’s right. Someone is trying to scare us. This case has already been concluded, but they’re using it against us. Obviously, someone is pulling the strings….”
Sebastian’s voice is loud, wanting everyone to hear, “I dare anyone to step up and try and ruin the name of Madison Tower. I promise to crush whoever it is.”
Sebastian and Zoey exchange glances.
Kyle walks over to their kids, “Did you guys see anything suspicious?”
Sloane doesn’t look well.
Juliana shakes her head, “We didn’t see anyone. It was only us walking through on our way to the pool.”
Suddenly, Sloane faints, falling backward and landing with a thud on her back.
“Sloane! Sloane!” Kyle screams out as he kneels down next to her.
Zoey hears Kyle and sees Sloane is down and begins to freak, “My Sloane!” she screams as she hurries over.
Kyle holds his daughter in his arms, but she is completely out.
Sloane has been put to bed, Kyle sitting by her side. Zoey is standing at the foot of the bed with her arms crossed in front of her.
Kyle sighs softly with concern, then slowly, Sloane starts to open her eyes.
“Are you awake?” asks Zoey.
Kyle doesn’t let Sloane answer that question, “We need to talk, Sloane.”
Slowly, Sloane turns to look at her father as he speaks, “The death of someone you know can cause plenty of stress. I want to set up an appointment for you to talk to someone who specializes in PTSD.”
Sloane’s eyes are filled with concern as she slowly shakes her head back and forth, “No. I’m okay.”
“See? She’s fine,” Zoey states. “And we all have jobs to go to.”
Kyle places his hand over Sloane’s hand, “Just think about it, okay?” He gives her hand a squeeze and stands up, walking out of the room.
Zoey seems skeptical, “It’s not like you to faint over something like this. You need to be stronger. The admission ceremony….”
Sloane slowly pushes herself to sit up. She does not look well at all. “I heard everything. Between you and Layla in the mechanical room.”
Zoey’s eyes go wide. “What?”
“She saw everything. The fabricated test scores,” Sloane is just spilling out everything she knows.
Zoey quickly rushes over and closes Sloane’s bedroom door after making sure Kyle isn’t lurking about.
“What’s going to happen if people find out?” Sloane asks her. “Will I get kicked out?” Sloane begins to play with her hair again.
Zoey spins around and looks at her daughter. She marches over and sits down on the edge of the bed. “That’ll never happen. That girl is dead.”
Sloane is perspiring now, her bangs sticking to her forehead. “I’m the one who cut her free.” She’s starting to breathe heavily. “I went to the mechanical room.”
Zoey’s eyes get even bigger. “What?! Why would you do that?!”
Sloane steps into the mechanical room.
“I know more than you think!” Layla tells Zoey, who stands there with her arms across her chest, smirking at the girl.
Zoey laughs at the girl, “What could you possibly know?”
Layla is shaking now, whether it’s the cold of the room or the water that was splashed on her. Or perhaps it’s the situation she’s in. She doesn’t hold back, though when she answers, “I know the entire audition was rigged.”
Zoey’s smirk leaves her face.
“I know everything!” Layla screams at her.
Zoey slaps her hard right across the face.
Sloane steps back around the corner to avoid being seen. She hears what is said next.
“Feeling guilty now? Good. You know your daughter was not accepted fairly. She fucked up her performance. Everyone knows it. Did you pay off a judge? Or just use your position to get her accepted?”Sloane begins to cry.
Zoey snaps right back, “You shut your mouth before I kill you!” She starts to shake Layla, but she is just at the right spot for Layla to lean her head and bite her hard, puncturing the skin.
Zoey pulls her arm back as she looks at the damage. Zoey’s face turns to extreme hatred as she steps up and grabs Layla by the throat and begins to choke her and scream, “Die! Die!”
Layla lands on her back, still tied to the chair, as Zoey kneels down and begins to choke the girl again. “Die!”
Suddenly, Layla stops moving as her eyes close.
Zoey’s eyes go wide, wondering if she just killed this girl. She scrambles to her feet and starts to hurry out, pausing once to look back to see if the girl is moving or not. When Layla doesn’t move, Zoey rushes out of the mechanical room.
Sloane creeps from around a boiler and walks up, picking up a large hammer from the workbench, and she raises it above her head as she stands over Layla.
But she stops.
Instead, she hammers down on that workbench in frustration, which wakes up Layla, who begins to stir.
Sloane kneels down and grabs Layla by the jacket, “I trusted you! You’re the only one I told about ruining my audition! You used that to blackmail my mom?” she screams at Layla. “How dare you!”
Layla looks up at the girl, “I had no choice. I had to protect myself. I needed something your mom was afraid of.”
Sloane is heaving as she keeps her grip on Layla’s shirt.
“Look, I’ll give you my phone, so let me go,” Layla tells her, realizing that the phone may not be worth her life.
Sloane screams at her, “How can I trust you?”
Layla looks like she just can’t do this anymore. “I’m done, Sloane. I just want to be done with all of it. Your mom and the rest of these fucking adults. I can’t take it anymore!” she cries out, tears streaming down her face.
Sloane’s eyes go wide as she listens to the girl.
“I don’t want to be involved in any of this anymore,” Layla weeps. “Please, I’ll give you whatever you want. Please, just let me go.”
Sloane snarls, “Are you serious?”
Layla nods her head, still crying.
Sloane pulls up Layla, getting face to face with the girl, “Don’t try anything funny, or I’ll make you pay, got it?” She releases Layla, pulls a pair of scissors from the workbench, and cuts Layla free.
However, once Layla’s legs are free, she kicks Sloane, sending her sprawling across the floor.
Layla staggers to her feet and begins to run towards the exit.
“Hey! Stop!” screams Sloane as she gets up and runs after the girl, stopping momentarily to grab a giant wrench from the table.
Layla runs unsteadily down the hallway. She’s dehydrated and hungry and has been tied to a chair for over 24 hours now. As she rounds the corner and uses the wall to keep her upright, Sloane and her wrench are hot on her heels.
Sloane suddenly throws the wrench, “Stop! Stop!” she screams out as she just barely misses hitting Layla with it. She catches up to Layla, grabs her by the hair, and throws her to the ground.
Sloane tries to drag Layla by the hair back to the mechanical room, but Layla scrambles to her feet and pushes Sloane against a maintenance cart.
They both go down.
Layla is to her feet first as she pushes through a door and heads down the stairwell, but Sloane is right at her back. Sloane reaches out to grab Layla by the jacket but accidentally shoves her instead, sending Layla sprawling down the steps to the landing.
Layla slowly turns to see Sloane taking one step at a time, coming towards her.
“Please, don’t do this, Sloane,” Layla begs.
Sloane stands over her, “Give me your phone!”
She leaps at Layla, who scoots away from her, but her hand misses the stair, and she tumbles down the next set of stairs to the next landing, crashing into a shelf. A stone statue tips back and forth until it falls and lands right on Layla’s head.
Layla grows still.
Sloane’s face tells the story. It has grown very pale. Her eyes are red and swollen.
“She died because of me!” she blurts out, bawling hard. “It’s all my fault!”
Zoey knows her daughter did not kill Layla Kwon. “It’s not your fault. Layla just tripped while running away.”
Sloane slowly turns to look at her mom, “Didn’t she die at her apartment?”
Zoey’s eyes go wide. Shit.
“Am I wrong?” Sloane asks, sniffling. “Did she really die here like that banner said?”
Zoey can’t answer her.
Sloane’s eyes go wide as she grabs her mother by the arms, “Please, tell me! Did she die in Madison Tower?”
Zoey has to nip this in the bud for her daughter’s sake. She grabs Sloane by the arms, “Listen to me very carefully. That night, Layla jumped from the rooftop of her apartment house. Do you understand what I’m saying to you?”
When Sloane doesn't answer, Zoey gives her a shake, “Answer me!”
Sloane doesn’t believe it as she begins to cry again, “That’s not true! It’s a lie!” Sloane is becoming unhinged.
“Just believe what I tell you!” snaps Zoey!
Sloane just looks terrified at her mother.
“Tell me the truth,” Zoey tells Sloane, “Do the others know?”
Sloane timidly moves her head from side to side.
Zoey lets out a sigh of relief. That’s all she needs is those other monsters knowing what happened with her daughter.
Sloane sits there crying. Zoey gets right in her face, “You can’t tell anyone about this. Never say another word about it. You weren’t there. You don’t know anything. Do you understand?”
Sloane can’t even make eye contact with her mother.
“Let’s keep this a secret between us. Do you understand?” Zoey again asks her.
Again, Sloane doesn’t answer, so Zoey gives her a shake, “Do you understand!”
Sloane is shaking, terrified as she meekly nods her head, tears streaming down her face.
Zoey will have to take it. “Forget all about that girl. She was fated to die.” She looks Sloane in the eyes, “It’s not your fault.”
Sloane sits there shaking like a leaf when Zoey gets to her feet, “Get ready. You’ll be late for practice,” suddenly speaking as if none of this ever occurred.
Zoey turns on her heels and leaves Sloane’s room, closing the door behind her.
Sloane sits there, shaking as she draws her knees up and hugs them to her.
Zoey rushes to the music room. She sits at her desk as she frantically types her password onto the computer and pulls up the video surveillance for the room. Her hand goes to her mouth when she sees Layla sitting at this very desk sometime at night.
Layla broke into the music room. Zoey’s password was predictable as she types “Sloane” into the password slot.
She finds the folder with all the scores and finds Sloane’s score. A mixture of 8s, 9s, and 10s. Layla had heard it straight from the source that Sloane had botched her audition.
She opens up the recycle bin. Of course, Zoey would forget to empty it. She finds Sloane’s original scoresheet. All 1s. From every judge.
Layla removes a USB device from her pocket and places it into the computer, and begins to copy everything to the drive.
Zoey watches in horror as Layla removes the drive from the computer, tucks it into her pocket, and then hurries out of the music room.
She starts to freak out but remembers, “She’s dead. She’s been cremated. It’s over,” she tells herself as she rises from her seat.
“There’s no way anyone will find out about this,” she tells herself as she begins to pace back and forth behind her desk.
Suddenly, she turns towards the paused image of Layla leaving the music room, and with a primal scream, she picks up the monitor and smashes it onto the tile floor. When it doesn’t break, she begins to stomp on it, over and over and over again.
A woman is looking through a file cabinet and pulls out a file folder, “You’re trying to contact the adoptive parents?”
Jessica is sitting down in front of a desk, “All I know is that she was adopted, and they took her to South Korea.” Jessica reaches into her purse and pulls out one of the photos of Layla and Congressman Same. She happened to have swiped it from the record before the asshole director could see her.
The lady winces a little at the words, “I’m sorry. Laws are preventing me from releasing any adoption records. Especially considering the circumstances of her return to the United States. Her former adoptive parents were very clear that they wanted nothing to do with her.”
Jessica is so confused, “Can you tell me why? Why did they send her back?”
The social worker flips through her folder. “It says here that she was deported for having committed a crime.”
Jessica just can’t believe that Layla would commit a crime. “What crime?”
The woman feels rather apologetic, but she’s bent the rules as far as they will bend. “That’s all I can tell you. I’m sorry.”
“Goddammit!” the children’s hospital director says. He is at his golfing range, trying to get some practice in. He turns to Jessica, “Why do you keep digging into this? What’s in it for you anyway?”
Jessica isn’t going to stop pursuing this until she gets some answers about her daughter. “I need to know who her adoptive parents were and why she was sent back.”
The director smiles smugly at her, “I already told you. I don’t know. By the way, I heard she died recently.”
“How did you find out?” she asks him.
He rolls his eyes, “Because she used to be at my hospital! The police came by to ask about her. She set fire to that building and jumped off. Besides, it was all over the news.”
“Her name wasn’t in the news,” Jessica snaps back at him. They don’t publish the names of minors in the news. Layla was only seventeen. Jessica knows something is up as her face grows stern, and she steps up to the man. “What are you hiding?” she demands.
The director just looks at her, which only pisses her off more.
“Tell me what you know!” she screams out in front of everyone.
Again, he says nothing. She purses her lips and turns and stomps off. She’s not finished here.
Further down the range, we see Congressman Same. He saw that entire exchange. When Jessica walks out of the range, he rises up and walks over to the director. “Is that the same woman as before?”
They can see Jessica walking to her car in the parking lot below.
“Yes,” the director tells him. “She’s come a few times asking about Layla Kwon. I really don’t understand what her fascination is….”
The congressman holds up his hand, interrupting the director. “You didn’t mention me, did you?”
“Of course not, sir,” he responds. “I would never tell her what really happened.”
The congressman smirks, “How lucky I am. That girl might be bringing me money even after she’s dead.”
It’s the first day of college at the IMS as Mariah walks into the orientation room.
Juliana is chatting with Carson when she sees Mariah walk in and rushes over to see her, “Hey there, Waiting List.”
When Mariah tries to walk up to find a seat, Juliana steps in her path.
“It’s Waiting List Girl,” Carson says as well. Penelope is watching from a few rows up, sitting next to Cross, who’s reading through a magazine.
Carson walks over, “I’ve heard a lot about you. Nice to meet you.” He crosses his arms across his chest, “I’ve also heard you’re rather annoying.”
“First of all, my name is Mariah, not Waiting List,” Mariah tells him. “Whoa there,” says Juliana as Carson leans over to her.
“She’s feisty.”
Juliana nods her head, “Didn’t I tell you? This is how she is all the time. Extremely brazen.”
Carson looks Mariah up and down, “Just look at what she’s wearing,” he just shakes his head as if he’s disappointed. “It’s really hard to look at.”
Mariah self-consciously wraps her jacket around herself.
“But, still, she’s pretty,” comes a male voice, and everyone turns to look at Cross.
Juliana just can’t believe those words came from anyone’s mouth. “You think she’s pretty?” She turns to look at Cross, “Have you gone blind?”
“I haven’t heard anyone say that you look pretty,” Mariah snaps at her. She tries to push by Juliana, “And get out of the way and stop blocking the stairs.” She bumps her a bit harder than she intended as Juliana falls into Carson.
As Mariah makes her way to a seat, Juliana glares up at her, “She’s annoying and a bully!”
Penelope taps her pencil on the desk, “Who cares if she was on the waiting list,” she says as she rises from her seat and steps out into the aisle, walking down to stand next to Mariah. “She’s here now, and we can all be friends, right?”
Penelope extends her hand, “I’m Penelope Gaston. I hope we can get along.”
Mariah is relieved that someone is treating her decently as she stands up and shakes hands with Penelope. “I’m Mariah Oh. I hope we get along well too.”
Juliana turns to Carson and whispers, “What’s up with her?” Carson just shrugs.
Suddenly, Sloane lets out a squeal as she looks at her tablet! “Guys? We have a situation.”
Someone from the back is looking at their phone as well, “Someone posted something online about why Layla Kwon died.”
Suddenly, everyone in the room is pulling out their cell phones.
The incident where the rich kids had taken Layla to the junkyard and locked her in a van is being played now on everyone’s phone.
Every word they spoke to her that night.
Everything they did to her that night.
All right there online for the world to see.
“Aren’t those the kids at Madison Tower?” someone asks.
“Wow. I feel sorry for Layla now,” another says.
The comments on the video posted on the official webpage for the IMS read like a lynching.
Some demand the kids go to jail.
Some demanding an investigation.
Suddenly, the website is no longer online.
“We’ve shut down our official social media page for the time being,” Matthew states, “Unfortunately, this has already gone viral.”
“And the parents?” asks Zoey, who calmly drinks a cup of coffee as she gets the report.
“They are demanding the truth.”
Zoey sets her cup down, now exasperated. Not about what happened to Layla, of course. But that it got out. “Who on Earth would do such a thing?”
“That girl is a nuisance, dead or alive,” Matthew tells her. “Perhaps we should have let Mariah Oh in sooner, as her mother had been requesting.”
Zoey is curious now, “Riley Oh?”
“Yes,” Matthew tells her, “She was coming every day to try and get her daughter into the school, but I sent her away so as not to disturb you. She was very persistent.”
Zoey almost seems thrilled at this. “Is that true?” She might have the answer she needs already.
Matthew escorts Zoey down the hall. She turns to him, “Draft a letter, anonymously, of course. Just what we talked about. And, there’s something I need you to look into.”
Zoey knows what she needs to do next.
“Who did this?” asks Kyle.
Chris screams out, “It’s the same person who put up the banner at the fountain!”
The parents have all gathered together. Sebastian, Jessica, Amber, Angel, Chris, and Kyle are all there.
Sebastian turns to Chris, “You need to calm down. Since Layla is already dead, it’ll be hard for the police to investigate this at all.”
Kyle is pacing back and forth, “You realize this could end up all over TV. Social media is bad enough these days.”
Amber looks appalled, “You talk as if this doesn’t involve your child. If it comes to the surface, all of us and our kids are done for!”
Jessica just sits there, listening to these schemers dig themselves deeper and deeper.
“You know who’s at fault here? That Layla Kwon! If she hadn’t pretended to be a tutor, none of this would have ever happened!” Angel cries out.
“Layla Kwon’s death may not be our kids’ fault,” Zoey says as she walks into the room.
Amber glances up at her, “What does that mean?”
Zoey is all smiles, “Think about it. Who was number one on the waiting list? Mariah Oh. I think her mother approached Layla Kwon.”
Kyle frowns at his wife, “What are you talking about now?”
“What do you mean? Did she demand Layla give up her spot?” Amber asks.
Zoey just glances down at Amber and gives her a nod.
Amber’s mouth pops open, then Angel’s mouth.
Sebastian just grins.
Chris also grins, “That woman is unbelievable.”
Kyle looks at Chris with disdain.
“She threatened that poor girl?” Amber cries out. Of course, Layla is a ‘poor girl’ now that the focus is on someone else as her killer. Otherwise, she’s a nuisance.
Sebastian is still grinning as he leans back against the couch, “It’s always right to bury an issue with an even bigger issue.”
Zoey nods her head. “We’re about to redirect everyone's attention to Riley Oh.”
Angel bobs her head, “The rumor is always scarier than the actual truth.”
Sebastian nods his head confidently, “And once again, we will overcome this crisis, just like we always do.”
For the first time, Jessica asks, “Do you have any actual proof?” She stares at Sebastian. “Any proof that she threatened Layla?”
Zoey looks down at Jessica, “Don’t worry. I’ve got someone on it now. Once we have our proof, I’m summoning an emergency parents’ meeting.”
Everyone is smug, except Kyle, who doesn’t want to see Riley in this jam.
And Jessica, who seems to know more than she’s letting on.
Congressman Same is sitting across from Sebastian in Sebastian’s study. Sebastian tells him, “I want to thank you for stepping in to stop those articles from running about our children. I am already in your debt, and I always pay those debts.”
Congressman Same knows all about Sebastian’s favors. “It’s not a problem at all.” If intervening can enrich his own wallet, well, who is he to withhold favors from his constituents.Sebastian rises up and walks over to his safe, turning the dial to open it up and retrieving a folder. He closes the safe and walks back, setting the folder in front of Same on top of a box. “Here’s everything I found out about your opponent in the next election, just as I promised. You might dig into that little slush fund.”
Same reaches for the envelope, but his attention is more on the box as he slowly lifts the lid to find it stacked to the brim with cash. He grins at Sebastian, “We’ve been friends for so long. I’m happy to help those children of yours avoid a bleak future. It’s the least I can do.”
There’s a knock on the study door, and Jessica opens it up. She carries a tray with two glasses and a bottle of whiskey. She pauses when she sees Congressman Same there, she hadn’t realized who Sebastian’s guest was this evening.
Sebastian’s phone rings, and he grabs it, then looks up at the congressman. “I’m sorry, I have to take this. It’ll only take a moment.” Sebastian gets up and walks out of the room as Jessica places a glass in front of the congressman and one in front of where Sebastian was sitting.
“You look stunning as always, Mrs. Gaston,” the congressman tells her. “This penthouse suits you, it seems.”
Jessica has so much she wants to ask but knows this isn’t the right place. “I’ll leave you two to talk then.” She starts to walk out when the congressman speaks again.
“Layla Kwon.”
That stops Jessica in her tracks.
He looks up at her, “How exactly do you know her?”
Jessica’s back is still towards him, “How do you know her?”
“Obviously, I took a special interest in the children’s hospital. I made sure it maintained funding,” he tells her. “But, what about you? If your husband finds out you’re looking into her. Better yet, that she’s your daughter….”
Damn. This was unexpected. Jessica forces a smile as she turns around to face him. “I’m not sure what you’re talking about.”
The congressman stands up and walks towards her, “If you step outside of your shelter, you could walk right into a thunderstorm. If things go well between us, you’ll have no worries about getting kicked out of this penthouse.” He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a card, and hands it to her. When she doesn’t take it, he reaches for her hand, places the card in it, folds her fingers over it, and pats her hand.
He turns around, and she crushes the card in her hand and walks out of the study. Congressman Same smirks as he watches her go.
The next morning, Riley finds herself in an awkward situation.
A parents’ meeting has been called, and she is apparently the subject of discussion as she sits at a desk in front of everyone else, facing some sort of disciplinary panel.
She has no clue why she’s been called here. Not a single clue.
Behind her sits Sebastian and Jessica.
Up on the panel are Amber, Chris, and Angel.
Sebastian looks at his watch, obviously bored.
Zoey and Matthew walk towards the conference hall, side by side.
“Riley Oh, we’re going to end this ill-fated relationship today once and for all,” she thinks to herself as she walks with a purpose.
As she walks into the conference hall, Matthew breaks off from her to find a seat in the small audience while Zoey marches to the front of the hall to take a seat at the head table, just barely glancing at Riley as she passes.
As Zoey turns around to face the crowd, she speaks. “I’ve been entrusted with the authority of the director of the International School of Music to lead today’s emergency meeting.”
Riley has had quite enough as she rises from her desk. “Why am I here?” she demands.
Zoey just stares at her, “We received an anonymous letter a few days ago. Mrs. Letter, if you’ll read the correspondence.”
As Zoey sits down, Angel rises up with the note in her hand. Riley turns towards the woman.
Angel reads, “I’m writing this to expose a mother’s twisted madness and obsession. She’s the mother of the number one student on the waiting list.”
Suddenly, the screens light up with this same letter on display for everyone to read as those in attendance begin to murmur as Riley just looks on with confusion. “What are you talking about?” she asks Angel.
Zoey uses a gavel rather overdramatically to silence Riley. “Sit down. You’ll get your turn to speak.”
Against her better judgment, Riley plops down into her chair as Angel continues to read.
“She is a murderer.”
Riley’s eyes go wide, and the murmuring behind her gets louder.
“To get her daughter admitted, she continuously and obsessively forced the victim to convince her to give up her admission.”
Riley scoffs at this utter bullshit being spoken about her.
“Because the student in question had no parents, she was easily victimized by the parent. If the victim died because of her, I strongly demand that the International School of Music uncover the truth so her death will not be in vain.” Angel turns to look at Zoey, indicating she’s finished reading.
Zoey dramatically places a hand over her heart as if she’s heartbroken.
Riley just can’t believe what’s going on right now.
Class is in session, and everyone is warming up, whether an instrument or vocals, everyone seems to be going over their parts.
Everyone except Juliana, who is on her phone when her mouth drops open. Then she begins to squeal, “I can’t believe it! I can’t believe it!” though the way she squeals it out, there are no spaces between the words.
Everyone stops, and their attention goes to Juliana as she begins reading the letter that was just read at the meeting about Riley.
Juliana turns to Mariah, “Isn’t this about your mom? You were number one on the waiting list.”
Penelope scrolls down on Juliana’s phone, “They’re saying your mom is a murderer.”
Mariah snatches the phone out of Juliana’s hand and reads.
As she reads the words written about her mother, she whispers to herself, “This can’t be.”
“It’s not true!” Riley states to the crowd. “I didn’t harm that child. I’m well aware that the kids of Madison Tower have been caught harassing Layla, and that’s the real reason she killed herself.”
Amber rises to her feet, “That hardly seems like a reason to kill yourself. Besides, I told this woman some information about Layla.” Amber remembers it well because she planted the seed to Riley that Mariah could get in if something happened to Layla. Of course, she doesn't mention that part.
“I didn’t imagine she would actually go see that child!” Amber cries out, finger still pointing at Riley.
Murmuring goes on behind Riley.
Chris rises from his chair and looks at Amber, “May I?”
Amber nods and sits back down.
Stepping out from behind his desk, as if he were at a trial, “My name is Christopher Letter.” He approaches Riley as if he were the prosecutor, “Ms. Oh. When you were told that an orphan had outsung your daughter, you immediately came to this school. I heard you showed up here numerous times to try and talk your daughter into this prestigious college. Isn’t that right?”Riley shakes her head, “What are you doing right now? I am not on trial.”
Matthew stands up from the crowd, “It’s true. She came here nearly every day to talk with Mrs. Kline about getting her daughter in, and each time I sent her out of here.”
Chris nods his head to Matthew, “What exactly did she ask for?
“She wanted a list of all the students who had gotten accepted,” Matthew says.
Riley is starting to get flustered, knowing exactly how this sounds. “That was just… just in case….”
Chris points his finger at her dramatically, “Just in case? You knew if you threatened that poor girl that you might get her to drop out, isn’t that right?” Chris is yelling at her now. “Knowing she was a poor orphan, that gave you hope, didn’t it? Am I wrong?”
Riley begins to look hopeless, knowing not a single one here is willing to stand up for her.
“Did your mom push Layla off of the tower?” Juliana asks. Everyone has formed a circle around Mariah now after reading that letter.
Carson shakes his head, “Her mom was willing to kill to get her into this college.” He shudders, “God, it creeps me out.”
Juliana just remembers, “Your mom came to see us that morning after. She had blood all over her hands!”
As everyone begins to talk amongst themselves, Juliana smirks, stepping right up to Mariah, “I wonder what really happened that night.” She gets right in front of Mariah’s face, “Did your mom kill her and then fake her suicide?”
Now Mariah is heated, “Say that again!?!” she yells and pushes Juliana away from her, sending the rich kid sprawling to the ground.
Juliana looks up at her, shock all over her face at being shoved. She looks up at Mariah, “Do you want to die?!?” she screams out. Juliana scrambles to her feet and charges Mariah grabbing her by the hair and jerking her back and forth before throwing her down to the floor.
Everyone else just stands back, watching this exchange.
With Mariah down, Juliana steps up to her and kicks her in the shoulder. Mariah grabs a drumstick before getting to her feet. She swings back, ready to bludgeon this obnoxious girl but stops, coming to her senses.
As Juliana cowers, afraid of being struck, Mariah throws the stick down. Juliana doesn’t miss this chance and pushes Mariah hard, sending her into a drum set.
“Do you want to die? How dare you push me!” Juliana screams as she stands over Mariah and throws in another kick and a punch.
“I’ll admit,” Riley says, tears streaming down her face. “I was desperate.”
Just then, Kyle walks into the meeting.
“When I heard her admission could get canceled, I thought my daughter might get a chance, after all, to get into this school,” Riley continues as Chris stands in front of her. “But…”
“Is that why you went to see that poor girl?” asks Chris, fake crying as he mocks Riley’s tears. “That poor girl with no parents.” He even goes so far as to pull out a handkerchief, “You stalked that poor girl.” He begins to blow his nose.
Riley shakes her head, “That is not true!” Everyone begins to murmur behind her. “It’s true that I went to see her, but….”
Amber stands up again, “Come to think of it, weren’t you the one who mentioned all her part-time jobs? If she didn’t stalk her, how would she possibly know where that poor girl worked?”
Angel slaps her hand on her table and stands up, “That’s exactly right. I remember clearly when she said it.”
Chris points to the two ladies, “It’s a very valid point. This is why I brought a witness,” Chris tells her.
A man is led into the room and to a podium. As soon as he turns to face the crowd, his eyes fall on Riley, and they go wide. “That’s her! She came to my restaurant to harm that poor Layla!”
Riley immediately recognizes the man as the restaurant owner that came out to chastise Layla for working too slow.
Riley’s mouth drops open at those words, and she gets to her feet and marches towards the man, “What are you talking about? Who’s the one who harassed her?”
The man can’t even look Riley in the eyes.
Amber sees where this could fall apart, so she rises to her feet again, “I say we call the police right this moment!” but Zoey calls her off, motioning for her to sit back down.
Jessica recalls reading something in Layla’s diary near the end.
It was that same night that Riley followed her with violent intentions, but she couldn’t do it in the end. She watched as that man berated Layla for being slow, so in a rush, Layla piled up as much trash as she could, but she couldn’t keep balance, and everything just scattered all over the pavement behind the restaurant.
The owner screamed at her, “Hey! What are you doing?!” He grabs her and pushes her across the pavement, sending Layla sprawling.
Still watching, Riley becomes uncomfortable with the scene in front of her.
“Are you trying to ruin me?” screams the man at her. Suddenly, he gets a better idea. “Starting today, you are going to work for three weeks without pay for this mess you’ve caused. From morning to night, do you understand?”
As the man starts to go back inside, Layla gets up and rushes to him, grabbing his arm, “Sir, I need the money. Please, I can’t work for free. You haven’t even paid me for the last month!”
The man pushes her back down, “Don’t you touch me.” Then he grabs her and pulls her towards the trash, “Get down there and pick all of this up.”
Riley is starting to seethe, and suddenly, she can take no more. She bursts past the gate and screams at the man, “What in the hell do you think you’re doing?”
The man and Layla both look at the woman.
“Don’t you think it’s wrong to treat a young girl like this?” Riley asks him. “This looks like abuse to me.”
The man just scoffs.
Riley gets even angrier, “You find that funny?” She pulls out her phone, “I’ll just call the police.”
“Who in the hell are you?” he asks.
Riley responds without so much a hesitation. “I’m her mother. What does it matter?”
The man just smirks at that.
Riley reaches down and pulls Layla to her feet, “Get up. We’ll find you a job somewhere else. I won’t have you working for a piece of trash like this asshole. Let’s go.”As Riley starts to drag Layla out of there, the man shouts at her, “Are you fucking crazy, lady? Stop…”
He barely gets that out when Riley turns on him like a snake and screams, “Hey! Get lost before I call the police!” she says as she walks away from the restaurant with Layla.
“The police? Hey! Who’s going to clean up this mess?” he screams, but they don’t stop.
A little later, Riley and Layla have walked to her apartment.
“Thank you for walking me home,” Layla tells her.
Riley seems a little apologetic, “I’m sorry you lost your job because of me.”
Layla just shrugs, “I’ll find another one."
Pulling out her wallet, Riley gives her all the cash she has inside. “Get something good to eat, okay?”
Layla pushes it back, “It’s fine. I have my own money.”
“I feel bad, so, please. Just take it,” Riley tells her.
Layla doesn’t seem to have a choice when Riley puts the money into her hands. “Is this where you live?” Riley asks her.
Layla nods her head.
“I’ll let you know if I hear of another job opening,” Riley tells her. She tucks her wallet back into her purse and waves, turning to head home.
Layla just looks at the money in her hands.
In her diary, Layla wrote:
“She was the first person to treat me and ask nothing in return. I will never forget her kindness.”
As Jessica watches everyone pile on Riley, she remembers those words.
“If I’m honest, I did think of harming her for a split second,” Riley confesses. “But after I saw how much she was suffering, I felt so badly for her. Instead, I decided to help her. I even tried to find her another job.”
Zoey can’t even seem to fathom someone helping someone for no reason. “You aren’t even her parent. Why would you try and help her? Were you going to try and cut a deal with her to get her to give up her admission?”
Riley’s getting pissed now. She charges towards Zoey, but Chris holds her back. “I said that wasn’t true!”
Chris turns back to the crowd, “Let’s take you back to that night when Layla Kwon died.”
Riley clutches her head. This is just too much.
Jessica, however, is watching her every reaction.
Chris turns to Riley, “What were you doing that night?”
“That night…” she starts.
She remembers drinking by the river.
Chris nods, “And then what?”
“After… after that….” it’s obvious she’s struggling. Finally, she admits, “I can’t remember.”
Chris points and walks away from her dramatically, “She just said she can’t remember! Does that mean you can’t give us an alibi?
Riley clutches at her head, trying to will her memory to come back.
Those involved in hiding the body seem to be pleased with how this is progressing.
Everyone except Kyle.
Zoey speaks up, “What is that wound on your hand?”
Chris marches over and grabs Riley by the wrist. There’s a bandage on the hand now. Riley pulls her hand away from him.
“You can’t remember that either?” Zoey asks.
Finally, Sebastian rises from his seat, “I guess our work here is done. Let’s call the police. You understand, until this is all cleared up, your daughter cannot attend this school. We, as parents, refuse to allow our children to attend if she’s allowed here.”
Matthew rises from his seat, “We’ll have a show of hands to determine if everyone agrees with Mr. Gaston’s assessment. Those against the admission of Mariah Oh, raise your hands.”
Chris’s hand is the first to rise, in fact, he raises both of his hands.
Amber, then Angel raises theirs next.
In the crowd, other hands go up.
Two hands do not go up.
Jessica.
And Kyle.
Sebastian looks down strangely at his wife, who is just sitting there.
“Why are you doing this?” screams Riley, watching her daughter’s dream start to crumble before her eyes. “I really did not do anything to that girl. I swear it. Please, believe me!”
Zoey pounds her gavel and rises to her feet. “According to the wishes of the parents, as an official representative of this institution, Mariah Oh’s admission will be suspended….”
“Wait.”
Zoey’s eyes fall on her husband as Kyle slowly rises from his seat.
Everyone turns around to look at him.
Kyle looks at his wife, “I know the whereabouts of Ms. Oh that night.”
Zoey just stares in disbelief as murmuring commences around the room.
“Dr. Kline, sit down!” Chris says as he motions.
Kyle ignores him as he turns to look at Riley, “She was with me that night at Madison Tower.”
Chris’s eyes go wide as he covers his mouth. Angel also covers her mouth.
Amber’s mouth just drops open.
Sebastian just sighs, then tosses a glance at Zoey.
Then Riley remembers something from that night.
Riley had walked into the party and taken a champagne bottle from the table, using her death stare on Zoey Kline. She lifts the bottle and takes a drink from it.
Then she grabs it and raises it like a weapon, and she starts towards Zoey.
Unfortunately, she takes two steps towards Zoey and just stumbles, falling to the floor.
This attracts Kyle’s attention. He takes a second look and is surprised to see Riley lying on the floor, trying to get to her feet.
“Dammit,” mutters Riley as she gets onto her hands and knees.
Kyle excuses himself from his conversation and walks over to Riley, helping her up, “What are you doing?” he asks her.
Riley continues to glare at Zoey, but Kyle turns her around and walks her out of the room, “Come here,” he tells her.
As he gets her out of the party room, Riley struggles, trying to get away from him. “Let me go,” she demands drunkenly.
He gets her down to the next level, where he finally lets her go. “How did you get in here?” he asks her.
Riley squints her eyes, “Kyle Kline?” She takes two awkward steps backward as she laughs, “It is you, Kyle Kline.”
Kyle doesn’t see anything funny at all. “You need to go. Zoey will throw a fit if she sees you.”
“Are you that scared of her?” Riley asks defiantly. “Are you so happy now that you dumped me for Zoey Skye?” She reaches out to shove his shoulder, “Huh?”
When Kyle doesn’t answer, she just shakes her head, “You’re the same as her. You didn’t believe me anyway!” she screams at him, shoving him down, and he lands on the steps behind him.
Kyle slowly gets to his feet but again says nothing.
“Zoey Skye was the start of my misfortunate,” Riley tells him. “But I won’t let anyone interfere with my daughter’s life!” She has to stop to catch her breath as she stands there unsteadily. “And I’m going to tell Zoey to her face, so get out of my way.”
Riley tries to go by him up the stairs, by Kyle grabs her. “Wait.” He tries to steer her towards the fountain, but Riley breaks free. She hits him with her purse and then kicks him in the balls, which doubles him over.
Riley staggers off, and the next thing we know, she’s in Zoey’s music room.
She walks over to that trophy that should have been hers, and she grabs hold of it just as Kyle rushes in, still limping.
As Riley raises that trophy high, Kyle yells, “Riley!”
But it’s too late.
Riley begins to smash the pictures of Zoey in the music room.
As the glass begins to fly everywhere, Kyle watches in horror as, one by one, pictures just explode.
When Riley sees one of the pictures has fallen out of the frame, she drops the statue and picks up the picture, though glass cuts her hand and she begins to bleed everywhere.
Riley begins to tear up a picture of Zoey taken during her days at IMS.
Kyle drops to his knees behind her, “Riley, get a hold of yourself. You’re bleeding everywhere!”
Riley just screams out, “No!” and pushes Kyle off of her. She reaches for the statue with her bloody hands. “All because of this. This ruined my life!”
Riley just begins to cry, sobbing.
Riley stands there with her mouth open as she looks up at Kyle.
“Do you have any proof?” Guess who? Yep, Amber. “How can we believe what you’re saying?”
Kyle smirks at her, “Madison Tower is surrounded by video cameras. Check them.” He turns to the others, “It’s time to stop this witch hunt. It’ll ruin the reputation of this school if we accuse an innocent person. It’s already been determined that Layla Kwon’s death was a suicide. Do we need another victim?”
Riley is holding her heart with both hands. She’s off the hook. She’s really off the hook. With so much relief, she drops to her knees.
Annoyed, Sebastian sits back down. That jerk just ruined his plan.
Zoey throws open the door to her office so hard it slams against the wall. She storms in with Kyle right on her heels.
As soon as they are inside, she turns on him, “What are you doing? Did it break your little bitty heart to see your first love in trouble?”
Kyle isn’t taking that bait, “You were taking this too far. The best idea you could come up with was framing an innocent person?”
“She barged into my office and threw a fit. You call that innocent?” Zoey snaps back at him. “She’s crazy! Do you know that woman is a certifiable lunatic? But, today,” Zoey almost looks sad, “My own husband stood up for that crazy.”
“Because,” he snaps back, then he lowers his tone. “She was too drunk that night….”
He doesn’t get another word out when Zoey hauls off and slaps him across the face.
Kyle clenches his teeth.
Zoey raises her hand to strike him again when he catches her hand, “How dare you,” he tells her, pointing his finger at her.
“You are a sorry excuse for a husband,” she says to him. “You defy me in there. Embarrass me in there. And on top of all of that, you gave her $100,000.”
Kyle finds himself at a loss, “You know about that?” She’s not supposed to know about that.
Zoey pulls her hand out of his and turns her back on him as she laughs. “What? An affair? Is that it?” she asks him. She stops in front of a table with a large round vase. She grabs it and smashes it onto the floor. She spins around and spits at him, “Are you still not over your first love?”
Kyle matches her venom, “That’s not what this is. Stop jumping to conclusions!” he yells back at her.
“Then what?” she asks. “Why give her all that money?” Zoey steps towards him, “You have totally trampled on my pride. I won’t forgive you for that.” She reaches up and grabs him by his jacket and looks him in the eyes, “Just you wait. Watch exactly how I handle this.”
Zoey storms out of her own office as Kyle watches her leave, wondering what stunt she’ll try next.
Sebastian, Amber, Chris, and Angel are outside of the college.
“Why did Dr. Kline have to go and ruin that for us?” Amber asks, “What has gotten into him?”
Chris puts his arm around Angel, “I know exactly what’s gotten into him,” he moves his eyebrows up and down. Angel just nudges him in the side.
“Won’t our kids get in trouble now?” Angel asks.