Chapter 4

Stepping into Adam Copeland's office felt like Cassidy was on her way to the electric chair. Her stomach clenched as his beady blue eyes locked on her, his hand gesturing for her to take a seat. Oh god, this wasn't good, Cassidy thought, and did as she was told, not wanting to anger the boss any more than he already was. Cassidy knew her article was mediocre, but honestly she didn't know what else to write about and her boss didn't give her any ideas either.

Just wing it was all he said, so that's what Cassidy did and now she would pay for it.

"Mr. Copeland…"

"Cassidy, I highly suggest you keep your mouth shut until I'm done talking." Adam stated evenly, sitting in his chair across from her folding his hands on top of his desk. "Do you know why I called you in here?"

"I have a pretty good idea." Cassidy murmured quietly, chewing her bottom lip and clasped her hands tightly in her lap, already feeling the sweat build on them.

"Really?" Adam leaned back in his chair, fingering a pen. "Inform me then."

Cassidy swallowed hard, feeling a lump form in her throat and wished she had some water to drink. "My article in today's paper." She answered somewhat hoarsely and tried controlling her emotions. "I didn't…"

Adam held his hand up, cutting her off and shook his head. "On the contrary, Cassidy, your article for today's paper was one of the best I've read in months." He smiled at the look of pure shock crossing her face and turned his chair, staring out the window at the city. "Do you not agree?"

Not knowing how to respond, Cassidy just remained quiet, azure eyes wide with perplexity. "Uhh…" She knew Mr. Copeland was waiting for an answer and honestly didn't have one. "I-I suppose not…"

"Fair enough." Adam spun back around, propping his feet on the desk and decided to get down to business. "I called you in here because I have another assignment for you."

This was definitely not something Cassidy expected from her boss, so all she could do was nod. "What is it?" She asked quietly, hoping he finally had something decent for her to work on.

"Bell Elementary School caught fire today," Adam began bluntly, blue eyes locking on his best journalist. "From what I've heard, it was in the cafeteria. Something about a grease fire. Anyway, that's not the full story though, at least not the one I want you to go after."

Cassidy had taken her notebook out of her purse, something she never left the house without and began jotting down everything her boss said. "Do they know what caused it?" She inquired, watching Adam shake his head and continued writing while he spoke.

"Not entirely, the school is being very hush-hush about it." Adam sounded annoyed, rolling his eyes. "That's not the story though, Irons. From what I was told, there was a little girl, age 6 or 7 somewhere around there, trapped in a locker in the hallway where the fire started. Her name is Madelyn Stratus." That much he'd manage to find out. "She was saved and currently in the hospital downtown. I need you to go down there and talk to her, find out what you can about what happened to her. I feel there's a story to be told here and you're the perfect candidate to tell it."

Her heart instantly broke for the poor little girl, not able to imagine the kind of fear she felt being seconds away from dying. "Tampa General?" Adam nodded as Cassidy jotted that down as well, already knowing where the hospital was. "Anything else?"

"No, that's pretty much it. Most of the reporters have gone to the school because they're more interested about covering the fire. That's why I'm directing you to this little girl. Her story needs to be told if she's being bullied." Adam didn't bother acknowledging the fact he'd known Trish personally for years and thought of her as family along with Madelyn. "Do you want a partner for this or do you think you can handle it alone?"

Cassidy chewed her bottom lip, thinking of Peyton and then remembered she had her own work to do regarding an oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, which was anywhere from a half an hour to an hour from Tampa since they were pretty much on the water. Peyton LOVED animals, to put it mildly and did whatever she could to help the poor creatures from hunters and whatnot. A tanker ship had gotten oil from Tampa, which was carted to Clearwater so it could be taken to South America for delivery. The tanker ship ended up traveling through shallow water and completely tore open the bottom of the craft, therefore causing an oil spill. Currently, Peyton was researching and investigating what exactly made the tanker ship go into shallow waters to begin with along with keeping track of how many dead ocean creatures the spill killed. It was an ongoing battle and, so far, Tampa Bay Times was the top paper in the city thanks to Peyton's hard work and dedication.

"I can handle it alone, Mr. Copeland." Cassidy decided, slowly rising from her seat and felt the biggest wave of relief wash over her when he extended his hand. "Thank you for this opportunity, I appreciate this."

Adam shook her hand firmly, nodding. "If you need any help with this, Irons, don't hesitate to ask. Now go, the little girl is staying overnight for observation, so you'll have the perfect time to ask her some questions. Just don't pressure the mother because she'll be melodramatic over what happened to her daughter." He knew that for a fact.

Cassidy briefly wondered how Adam knew so much about Trish Stratus, but decided not to ask. It was none of her business. "Yes sir, I'll give you my first update before the day is out." Regardless if Madelyn wasn't up for talking to her, Cassidy would venture to the school and start her questioning there if need be.

"Good, off you go."

Adam normally had a manila envelope full of information for the person he wanted investigated, but this time was definitely different. Cassidy would have to go in blind with no help and rely on her expertise, which was something new. If Adam felt she couldn't do it, he wouldn't have chosen her, but with her skills and kind heart, they would get the full story on what happened to Madelyn Stratus. Walking out of Adam's office, Peyton was the first one to approach a still bewildered Cassidy, touching her shoulder gently.

"Are you okay, sweetie?" She asked softly, not remembering Cassidy looking so…stunned in the 3 years Peyton knew her.

"F-Fine." Cassidy stammered, clearing her throat and accepted a cup of water Peyton handed her, downing it in one gulp. "I'm not in trouble."

Peyton breathed a sigh of relief, deciding Adam Copeland could keep his balls for another day and smiled. "So what was the meeting about or is it confidential?" She was nosy and didn't bother hiding it since the women told each other everything.

"Bell Elementary School caught fire this morning and he wants me to investigate one of the rescued victims." Cassidy said in a rush of words, keeping her voice down and hoped she could pull this off. She didn't want to disappoint her Chief Editor, not after getting complimented on her article.

"WOW, no I didn't know…" Peyton's heart went out to the children, knowing there had to be a horrific incident. "You'll do great with it. I have no doubt. So does this mean you're not sticking around today?" She smirked, grey eyes twinkling.

"No, I have to start investigating today and give Mr. Copeland an update by the end of the day." Cassidy didn't bother going to her cubicle because she already had her purse and everything in hand. "I was going to ask you to tag along with this, but I know you're busy with the oil spill situation."

Peyton nodded, keeping the smile on her face, though it didn't touch her eyes. "Yeah, you know I'd love to tag along with you if I could." She winked, looking up when Adam walked out of his office and sighed resignedly. "I better get back to work before you-know-who decides to give another lecture on socializing. I'll call you later tonight."

Cassidy chuckled, nodding and caught Adam's eye, immediately turning to leave the office. She swiped her badge through the machine, hearing it beep approval and headed back to her Honda Civic, deciding to go the hospital first. Sitting in her car for a minute, Cassidy took a few deep breaths before looking over her notes, searing the little girl's name to memory.

"Poor baby." She whispered, shaking her head sadly and put the car in reverse, heading out of the parking lot toward downtown where Tampa General was located.

Arriving 20 minutes later, Cassidy parked in the visitor's lot and headed into the hospital, walking up to the receptionist's desk. The receptionist, Jennifer, smiled warmly up at her, putting her paperwork to the side. "How may I help you?" She asked politely, fluffing her grey curly bob a little.

Cassidy smiled back, pulling her badge from her purse and flashed it. "I'm a journalist with the Tampa Bay Times and I heard one of the fire victims from Bell Elementary School is here. I was wondering if I could have a word with her."

One thing about Cassidy was she never lied when it came to investigating, not unless her life was in danger. So far, it never had been. The receptionist nodded, typing on her computer to see if the patient was accepting visitors.

"3rd floor, room 383 in Pediatrics. When you get up there, you should see the mother and you'll have to ask her permission, if you didn't already know."

"Yes, thank you."

Cassidy walked off toward the elevators and took them up to the Pediatrics floor, swallowing down her nerves. There was a very good chance the mother of this little girl would snap and rip her apart verbally, but that was the life of a journalist. Turning the corner, Cassidy spotted the sign that pointed which way to walk to get to room 383, turning left. The nurse's station came into view instantly and Cassidy took a deep breath before heading over, hoping this went well.

"How may I help you?" The nurse, Josephine, asked while looking over one of her patient charts.

"Yes, I know this may seem a little awkward, but…" Cassidy brought her badge out and showed the nurse, smiling tentatively. "My name is Cassidy Irons and I work for the Tampa Bay Times. I heard there was a victim in the fire today at Bell Elementary School and wanted to speak with her mother, Trish Stratus."

The nurse eyed her shrewdly for a moment and opened her mouth to speak, clamping it shut when a voice sounded behind both of them. "What do you want?"

Cassidy turned around, spotting a petite platinum blonde standing in the hallway and knew instinctively this had to be the mother. "Miss Stratus, forgive me for the intrusion, but I heard what happened to your daughter and was wondering if I could talk to you for a few minutes." This had to be a hard time for the mother, which Cassidy more than understood.

Trish looked back at her with narrowed brown eyes and lowered them to the floor, tears forming. "You're the first reporter to come here." She whispered heartbrokenly, wrapping her arms around herself. "My little girl…"

Frowning, Cassidy wrapped a comforting arm around Trish's shoulders and guided her over to sit in a nearby chair away from the nurse's station, not wanting them eavesdropping. "I can't imagine what you must be feeling right now, but that's why I'm here. Unlike the other reporters in the city, I care about what happened to your daughter and I want to tell her story." There had to be one here; Adam wouldn't have sent her if there wasn't.

"Did you say the Tampa Bay Times?" Trish asked, wiping her tears away and watched Cassidy nod in confirmation, a very small smile curving her lips. "Damn you, Adam."

Cassidy's eyes widened, not sure she heard Trish correctly and immediately pulled her notebook out of her purse. "You know an Adam that works there?" Was it her boss? Did Adam send her out to do this story for personal reasons?

Trish nodded, brown eyes turning a little softer. "You could say that. We've known each other for years, since we were young actually. But that's beside the point, what did you want to know about my daughter?" She wasn't one to beat around the bush, especially when it came to Madelyn.

"Well, I heard that she'd been locked in a locker just outside of where the fire started. Is that true?"

Trish nodded. "Yes, the fire started in the cafeteria. They're saying it was a grease fire that got out of control."

Cassidy jotted that information down. "So do you know how your daughter got stuck in that locker? And do you know who saved her?" Of course whoever the firefighter was would have to be acknowledged in her article.

Lowering her eyes to her lap, Trish felt the guilt wash over her and clasped her hands tightly together, sniffling. "S-She was shoved in there…by some kids. She won't tell me who they are, but I think I have a pretty good idea who did it." Her brown eyes flashed as she looked straight ahead, taking a deep breath.

"Who?"

"Surana Levesque." Trish's voice sounded ice cold when she spoke the child's name, not that Cassidy blamed her.

"The Mayor's daughter?" Of course everyone knew who Surana was because her father currently ran the city of Tampa as Mayor and had for several years. He was a bloodsucking, money hungry corporate dick of the WORST caliber. "What grade is she in?" Cassidy continued writing.

"What difference does it make?" Trish snapped, tossing her hands up in the air. "She's going to get away with nearly killing my daughter because everyone will turn the other cheek! This is bullshit! My daughter is only 6 and just started 1st grade this year! Surana has picked on her relentlessly because I teach the Special Education classes! She's in 5th grade and 10 years old!"

Cassidy's azure eyes narrowed as she set her notebook down, taking Trish's hands in hers and forced the woman to look at her. "Listen to me, I don't care if this kid is the Mayor's daughter or not. What she did to Madelyn is wrong and it needs to be told. Bullying has gotten very serious over the past few years and kids have been killing themselves because they can't deal with the pain and torture. Trust me, Tampa Bay Times will tell Madelyn's story and there won't be a force on this earth that will allow the Levesque family to weasel out of it. You just have to trust me."

Trish hoped Cassidy was right and could only nod.