Page 93 of Not Another Rockstar
Was this why she was doing this? To reveal the news of her pregnancy? None of them had heard from her since the willreading. Nick had tried to check in on her, but she said she didn’t want to hear from any of them. It wasn’t like she needed the money, and outing herself as the late, beloved rockstar’s secret lover wasn’t going to play in her favour.
Phoebe forced herself to focus.
“My producers were surprised you were so willing to do this interview. I’m sure what you have to say will be a great shock to the fans of both Brothers of Anarchy and Phoebe Fletcher.” The host in her brightly coloured shirt was loving every second.
“I came here to tell you all a rather salacious story,” Helen started, and the host sat forward, eager for the scoop. “With everything being said in the media about Phoebe and Cillian, I wanted to set the record straight.”
“How will you do that?” the host teased, and the camera zoomed in.
Helen, visibly shaken, took a deep breath.
“I was having an affair with Cillian Hunt for six months before his death. It was Cillian driving the car when he crashed with Phoebe. She wasn’t driving, and that video of her being pulled from the driver seat was edited.” She rattled off the confessions in quick succession.
“How can you know all this about the crash?” The host pressured her for more.
“Because the band’s manager, Anita Harding, paid me to do this interview.”
A shiver ran down Phoebe’s spine. Axel reached for her hand, but no one dared say a word.
“That’s quite the accusation. Anita Harding, who’s been with Brothers of Anarchy for nearly a decade, paid you to confess to an affair with her client?”
“Ms Harding paid me to do this interview, not to confess to the affair, or to stand in defence of Ms Fletcher being a victim of Cillian’s drunk-driving. Instead, Ms Harding paid me to tarnishPhoebe’s reputation further by revealing that Phoebe was having a love affair with Axel Adler while she was with Cillian and that it was that discovery that led to the car accident. This couldn’t be farther from the truth. I was to say I witnessed this affair while I worked with the band as their lead make-up artist.” Helen straightened in the seat as though finding her courage as she spoke.
“That’s one hell of a story. Just to clarify, did you witness such an affair between the drummer and Ms Fletcher?” the host challenged.
“No. I only mention it to out the lies being spread. Without Ms Harding’s knowledge, who I’m sure will be very upset with me, I agreed to do this interview to set the record straight. I believe someone else was meant to be in this seat today, but Ms Harding had the power to swap us at the last minute. Ms Fletcher has been tormented these past few months, and I’m sorry to say that my actions have caused her much hurt, and for that I’m so very sorry.” Helen looked at the camera, talking directly to Phoebe.
Is she looking for sympathy?Phoebe wondered.Or am I being paranoid because of all that’s happened recently?She hated how jaded she was becoming.
The interviewer frowned; clearly this wasn’t the interview she’d been expecting. “Why are you coming forward?”
Phoebe had the same question.
“Because I’m tired of seeing all the hate. I loved Cillian and I’ve worked with the other members of the band for the past few years. I once considered them friends, and Cillian would’ve hated to see his friends, his family, hurting. We all deserve peace. Cillian wasn’t perfect, but we all loved him, and I feel like we’ve all lost sight of that. We all lost him, and no one is to blame, least of all Phoebe,” she said, and the emotion in her voice sounded genuine.
They were all stunned into silence. August turned off the TV. No one knew what to say, including Phoebe.
Could Helen be telling the truth? It doesn’t make sense, why would Anita do this? Why would she want to destroy me like this?
All turned to look at Anita at the end of the table.
“Why are you all looking at me like that?” Anita said. “You can’t believe her.”
Nobody said anything. They looked to Phoebe, waiting for her reaction.
“You can’t believe a word she’s saying. She’s a liar out for money and trying to come out of this situation as a saint,” Anita added, but no one was listening to her.
“Why defend us, me, if she was out to stir trouble?” Phoebe asked calmly.
“How could I know the reason for her doing this?” Anita acted stunned, but there was a hesitation in her gaze, a recalculation as she looked around the room. “She’s probably out to make a name for herself.”
Nick rose from the table. “Cillian left her a home, and plenty of money for her and the baby. Putting herself in the spotlight only puts her at risk.”
“I’m not a mind reader, I can’t possibly know what her reasoning is.”
“How did she get the interview spot?” Axel challenged.
“She probably promised the producers a great story, which she provided. Astory.”
