Phoebe wondered if this, not the fellowship, was Ted’s answer to her. He stared into the middle distance.

“‘In my twenty-five-year career in movies,’” Phoebe began, reading his words aloud, “‘I’ve always valued the contributions women have made in this industry. My very first film, The Starfighter, was produced by a woman, and I continue to encourage and collaborate with talented women in all of my creative endeavors. I hope that one day we will live in the equitable world my daughter deserves. My wife and I are proud supporters of Genders United and believe wholeheartedly in the work the organization is doing to eradicate the barriers to women and nonbinary individuals’ professional advancement and to fight wage inequality. In the past year, many brave people have shared their stories about the sexual misconduct they have endured, some at the hands of Jerome Silver.’”

She hadn’t said his full name out loud before, and it burned in her mouth, like the painful zing of tinfoil on silver.

“‘I was unaware of his alleged actions, and their stories have shocked me to my core. Next week, prosecutors will embark on their search for the truth in the case against Jerome Silver. My wife and I will not be commenting on these legal matters, but we hope that justice will be served.’”

Phoebe stopped speaking and looked up into the light.

“Phoebe, would you care to comment?” Serafina asked.

Phoebe’s heart cartwheeled in her throat. Her hands balled up in the pockets of her skirt. A breeze blew on her bare arms, but she was already ice cold.

That bastard. He was lying. Even knowing that he would—and having banked on it when she went to see him—Phoebe was still stunned. There was no point in releasing a statement like this except to create distance between him and Jerry, and until today, he hadn’t felt he needed to. In his office earlier, she’d floated her suspicion that Jerry had blacklisted her, and Ted had said nothing. But he knew more than he’d let on, and Phoebe had hoped she could get him to speak on it publicly, to create a trail for the press to follow, away from the assault and toward this. Ted was well aware of the kind of monster Jerry was, but he was content to appear as if he existed on another plane where bad things didn’t happen. Phoebe had asked Ted to stick his neck out for her, and all he’d done was try to exonerate himself.