Someone -- Mrs. Marshall or Blaine -- had released the video of my abuse when Blaine forced me to have sex with him.
"Oh, God," I said and covered my mouth.
Just then, Candace walked in, her cane in hand. "What's the matter, kiddo? You look like you've seen a ghost."
I held up the iPad when she sat on the side of my bed. Mara and Jan followed, their faces switching from happy to see me to alarmed.
"What's going on?"
Candace took my iPad and watched for a moment. She shook her head. "It's on that horrible gossip channel. Tatters." She turned to me. "You should call a lawyer and sue the bastards."
"It's not illegal to post a video."
"There has to be a law against it," Mara said. "It's like harassment or something, isn't it?"
I shook my head. "It's not my property. It was Blaine's."
"Yes, but it showed a rape and sexual assault. Isn't that against the law? Wouldn't that video be considered evidence?"
"They'll just take the link to the video down. There's nothing to stop them from posting it somewhere else. This was done to hurt me, and Blaine doesn't care if he has to move it around to stay ahead of the police."
"You have to do something to make them take that link down," Candace said. "It'll hurt your reputation, unless you want to become the next Kardashian."
"That wasn't in my long-range plans..."
"Seriously, Alexa, you have to call a lawyer and get them to take the link down."
"I will," I said and sighed. Then, I texted Luke.
ALEXA: Luke can you come up and see me?
Luke texted me right back.
LUKE: Be right there.
In less than a minute, as Mara and Jan and Candace passed the iPad around, taking down info on the website that was hosting the video, Luke popped his head into the room.
"What's up?"
"We'll leave," Candace said and handed the iPad back to me. "You two need some privacy."
I nodded and gave her a faint smile.
Once they were gone, Luke came over to me and took the iPad. He watched for a moment and then shook his head.
"Jesus..." He closed the window and sat down on the side of the bed. "I'm so sorry," he said. "We obviously have to do something to stop this."
"I don't know who did it -- your mother or Blaine. Or both of them. Whoever did it, it doesn't even matter."
"I don't think my mother would actually meet with Blaine or work with him directly. Indirectly, perhaps. If he was to send her information or videos, she wouldn't hesitate to use them to get what she wants -- bad publicity for you."
"But why? It has to hurt you as well as me. We're married. We're having a baby! Can't she see that when she hurts me, she hurts you?"
"She must not understand that I love you and nothing she does can change that and make me want to give you up." Luke leaned forward and kissed me on the lips tenderly, his hands on my shoulders. "That's why I think it must have been Blaine. He's the one with the motive to hurt us. My mom wouldn't want your reputation to be hurt."
"Those are nice words," I said and leaned back, covering my eyes with a hand. "But she did show me those pictures as a way to make me leave you."
"Yes, leave me. She wouldn't hurt my reputation, no matter how unhappy she was with our marriage. I just don't see it."