Wrongly Accused

Amelia groaned as her phone buzzed loudly against the wooden nightstand, it's screen flashing a name she didn't want to deal with—Kris.

Without bothering to check it, she hissed under her breath and tapped the screen to silence it. “It’s too early for whatever drama you wanna drag me into, Kris,” she muttered, swinging her legs off the bed.

After freshening up and getting dressed, she called Mikey to hurry up, “Mikey you're going to be late, again! Hurry up please"

But as usual, he took his sweet time brushing his teeth and zipping up his school bag. Once he was in the car, munching on a granola bar, she slid into the driver’s seat and exhaled.

“Ready?" She asked as she fastened Mikey's seatbelt.

Her phone buzzed again.

Kris.

She rolled her eyes and put the phone on silent. “Whatever it is will have to wait,” she whispered to herselff.

She dropped Mikey off at school, waving goodbye before heading off to work. “Time to start the day"

********

As she reached the office, Mrs. P smiled at her with an envelope in hand.

“You’re on fieldwork today, Amelia. You and Kelvin get your asses down there pronto and get me a scope of the mall.”

Amelia’s eyes sparkled. “Finally! I’ve been waiting for such an assignment.”

She collected her things, grabbed her press ID and mic, and met up with her cameraman, kelvin downstairs.

“Let’s roll,” she said, already envisioning a post-interview smoothie.

As they set up at the mall entrance, the cameraman glanced at her phone sitting in her tote bag. “Uh… don't you think you should get that? Your phone’s been going wild.”

“Leave it,” she said, lifting her mic. “Whatever or whoever it is, it can wait.”

She already knew it would be Kris.

They began filming. Amelia moved from person to person, interviewing shoppers about their experiences in the mall. It was going smoothly, and Amelia was glowing with satisfaction.

Then, as they were about to start rounding up, they heard shouting.

“What's going on?” she asked, turning to the cameraman.

“It’s coming from the toy store over there,” he said, still filming as they made their way to the crowd.

Inside, a little boy's cry echoed. Amelia's heart sank as she recognized the voice.

“Leo?” she called.

He turned, his face red and tear-streaked. “Amelia!” he cried, running into her arms.

“What are you doing here, sweetheart?” she asked dropping her mic and picking him up. “Where’s your dad? How did you get here?”

“I got lost,” Leo sniffled. “They left me.”

Before she could say anything more, a woman behind the counter shouted, “That boy tried to steal!”

Amelia turned to the woman who was shouting, confused. “Excuse me?”

The woman pointed at Leo. “He had one of our premium toys in his pocket. Thankfully a customer caught him and brought it to my attention before he walked out!”

Leo shook his head quickly. “I didn’t! I swear! Someone must have put it there!” His eyes filled with such innocence.

Amelia tightened her grip on him. “I believe you Leo.”

Leo’s eyes widened in hope. “You do?”

“Of course. My son would never steal.” She held on to him a little tighter in a protective manner.

The words ‘son’ made Leo’s breath hitch. He buried his face into her shoulder, a tiny smile forming.

The saleswoman once again scoffed. “Oh I see, it's no wonder he tried to steal it, can you even afford to pay for such a toy? Is that why you had him come in here?”

“How much is it?” Amelia asked, clearly offended, she didn't think this lady knew who she was pointing her fingers at.

The woman grabbed the box and pointed the price tag to Amelia. She blinked.

“That’s half my rent!” she whispered.

The woman stepped forward, reaching for Leo. “I’ll be taking this kid thank you very much, until someone coughs up the money—”

Amelia smacked the woman’s hand away.

“Don’t you dare touch him,” she snapped.

The woman’s face twisted in fury as she raised her hand to slap Amelia,

“How dare you"

But before she could land the blow, a hand grabbed her wrist mid-air.

It was Kris. And not a minute too soon thank God.

He stood like a wall, his eyes cold. “Touch her again, and I’ll make sure to bury this pathetic excuse of a store in lawsuits.”

The woman gasped. “M-Mr. Fox?!”

“Yes,” he said, pushing her hand far away and making her take a step back.

“You dare harass my family?”

“I-I didn’t know,” the woman stammered, backing away.

Amelia looked up, relaxed now that Kris was here, it was at that moment she noticed a security camera watching them from the corner of the room. “Why don't we just check the footage from the security cameras? It’ll prove Leo’s innocence.”

The woman stuttered, “T-The cameras aren’t working.”

Kris narrowed his eyes. “That’s not a problem, they’ll work for me.”

He removed his jacket and draped it around Amelia’s shoulders, who was still shielding Leo in her arms. Then he turned to the woman.

“You dare accuse my fiancee? Calling my son, the heir to Fox Enterprise, a common thief!?" The room fell quiet, nothing but the echos of Kris's screams bouncing off the walls.

“You’re lucky I’m just walking away. But if I hear about anything like this again, I’ll sue you and this whole mall for every penny you've got.”

The woman fell to her knees. “Please! I didn’t know she was your fiancée or that he was your son!”

Kris ignored her. He guided Amelia and Leo out of the store.

Boos followed as people threw anything they could get their hands on, the woman was ashamed.

********

Outside, his driver opened the car door. Kris gently handed Leo to him. “Get him settled in.”

Then, he casually turned to Amelia, forgetting everything that had just happened. “Why haven’t you been answering my calls?”

“Maybe I didn’t want to,” she replied without so much of a thought.

Kris exhaled. “You’re such a difficult person, you know that?”

“Why thank you, it's one of my charming traits. Now say what you have to say, I've got to head back to work” Amelia snapped.

“My father wants to meet you.”

Amelia blinked. “Your Father?”

“Yes”

She crossed her arms. “Well fine then, I'll see if I can fit him in for next year. Does that sound good?”

It was a joke but Kris clearly wasn't amused, “We're going to see him right now. Get in the car"

“Ha! I'm not getting in that car, I'm definitely not going to see your Father now, maybe next time a little heads up"

He moved closer, grabbing hold of her hand. “I don't have time to do this with you Amelia. This is important.”

Suddenly, just for a moment, Kris’s gaze shifted. Across the parking lot, a tall woman in red heels and sleek sunglasses on her hat walked by.

She smirked and winked in their direction.

Kris’s grip on Amelia loosened.

“What are you looking at?” Amelia asked.

“It can't be” Kris murmured.

He let go of Amelia’s hand. “Be ready tomorrow at 5:00pm. We’re going to see my Father whether you want to or not.”

Amelia looked at him, stunned. “That’s it? You’re letting me go?”

He nodded, distracted.

Amelia didn’t wait for a second chance. She ran off toward her cameraman before Kris would have time to think straight.

Kris got into his car and shut the door. “Drive,” he ordered.

Then, he picked up his phone. “Find out if Jessica’s back in town.”