America: From a Fallen Child Star to the Head of the University of the West

The woman's apartment wasn't large, but it was very tidy. Like many Americans, she had a few family photos on her walls and a plastic flowerpot in the living room, purely for decoration.

"Please sit down," the woman said, gesturing to the sofa. "My name is Gloria Williams. Thomas is my neighbor and also my friend. My husband is celebrating the holiday with his colleagues at the union today, so I'm home alone."

Sean and Matthew sat down on the sofa. Matthew first asked if he could record the conversation. After receiving permission, he adjusted the angle of his phone to ensure that the entire conversation could be recorded.

"Ms. Williams, first of all, I want to say that I am very sorry to hear about Thomas's passing," Sean said.

"No need," Gloria said with a wry smile. "The police came this morning and asked me a lot of questions. Thomas's lawyer might be coming over later to handle some things."

"Does he have a lawyer?" Matthew asked.

"It was arranged for him by the prosecutor's office. I heard that he is a very well-known public interest lawyer in the area," Gloria said.

"Alright, Ms. Williams, may I ask what kind of person Thomas is? Why would he be willing to testify against me in court?" Sean asked again.

"You want to hear the truth?"

"certainly."

"Thomas isn't a bad person," Gloria said. "He's just an ordinary person who was abandoned."

She stood up, took a photo frame from the cabinet, and handed it to Sean.

The photo shows a young white man in factory work clothes standing in front of a huge machine with a confident smile on his face.

"This is Thomas from thirty years ago," Gloria said. "Back then, he and my husband worked together at Bethlehem Steel. Thomas was a technician, and my husband was an accountant. He was six years older than Thomas. Although Bethlehem was slowly declining at that time, the wages were still good, and the benefits were good. People always felt that the steel trade was only temporarily in crisis."

"And so, he bought a house, got married, and had two children."

“Bethlehem Steel…” Matthew sighed. “It used to be one of the largest steel mills in Pennsylvania.”

“Yes.” Gloria nodded. “But then the factory closed down. First layoffs, then pay cuts, and finally the whole factory was gone. Bethlehem didn’t survive until the 1920s. Thomas and my husband lost their jobs, but his wife left him, taking their children with her.”

She sat back down in her chair, her voice and her whole demeanor becoming somber.

Thomas tried many jobs. He drove trucks, worked as a security guard, and was a cashier at a supermarket. But those jobs either paid too little or didn't last long. He had knee problems, which he developed in the factory, and he didn't have health insurance, so he couldn't afford serious medical treatment. There was a time when he couldn't even pay his rent.

"And then?" Sean asked.

"Then, about five or six years ago, Thomas heard about an investment opportunity," Gloria said. "Someone told him that as long as he invested his money, he could get a stable return. He invested all his savings."

"Avalon Foundation"

At that moment, Sean knew how the story would end.

"Yes, that's it." Gloria nodded. "He did make money at first. Thomas was ecstatic; he felt he had finally found a chance to turn his life around. He even brought in a lot of friends, including me and my husband."

She gave a wry smile. "We all thought we'd struck it rich."

"Then the fund collapsed," Matthew said.

"Yes," Gloria's voice turned heavy. "All the money is gone. Thomas not only lost all his savings, but he's also drowning in debt. Some of the friends he dragged into this still don't speak to him."

Sean remained silent for a moment before speaking:

"That's why he hates me."

“He doesn’t hate you.” Gloria shook her head. “At least not at first. He knows you’re a victim too; he’s seen your interviews on TV.”

"Then why was he willing to testify against me in court?"

Gloria hesitated for a moment, then said, "Because someone found him."

"Who?"

"I don't know exactly who it was. But about a few weeks ago, someone approached Thomas and said that if he was willing to testify in court, he could get a sum of money that would be enough to pay off his debts and start over."

"At the same time, it will also ensure that those who deserve revenge get what they deserve," Gloria sighed. "He told us about it so excitedly back then, but I never expected..."

"Thomas worked as a promoter for the Avalon Fund in California in 2021." She changed the subject, "During that time, the fund company reimbursed his airfare and hotel expenses and had him appear at events to share his experiences of how he made money through investing."

Thomas said he saw you at those events.

"I see……"

"Yes. They said you also participated in those events, and even shook hands and took photos with Thomas."

"But I don't remember it at all." Sean frowned.

“Thomas wasn’t quite sure either,” Gloria said. “He said there were a lot of people at those events, and he’d seen a lot of celebrities, but he couldn’t remember exactly who they were. But those people showed him some photos and said that the person in the photos was you.”

"Photographs?" Sean's eyes lit up. "Do you have those photographs?"

Gloria shook her head. "Those photos were taken by those people. But Thomas himself kept some photos from the events back then."

She stood up, went into the bedroom, and after a while took out an old envelope.

"Thomas showed this to me before. He said he filmed it during his time in California."

Sean took the envelope and pulled out several photos.

The photo quality isn't very good; it was clearly taken with a mobile phone. The picture shows a hotel banquet hall with many people dressed in formal attire, holding champagne glasses.

He carefully examined each photo, trying to find himself in the crowd.

However, nothing was found.

"I'm not in these photos," he said.

“I know,” Gloria said. “Thomas also said that you weren’t in the photos he took. But you were in the photos the other people showed him.”

Sean silently put the photo back in the envelope and fell into deep thought.

If the photos those people showed Thomas were fake, then the whole accusation was a trap from the start.

But now Thomas is dead, and those photos are nowhere to be found.

“Ms. Williams,” Sean began, “do you have a photograph of Thomas himself? I mean, a recent one.”

"Yes," Gloria said, pulling a photo from her phone and handing it to Sean. "This was taken last month when we were at a community event together."

Sean took the phone and looked at the photo on the screen.

The photo shows a white man in his fifties with gray hair, a wrinkled face, and an indescribable weariness in his eyes. He is wearing an old jacket and stands in the middle of a group of people, managing a forced smile.

This time, he searched through the original owner's memories inside and out, trying to find any fragments related to this person.

But there was nothing there.

"I have no recollection of this person." Sean handed the phone back to Gloria. "I'm certain I've never seen him before."

"That's strange," Gloria frowned. "How did those people convince Thomas that he had seen you?"

Just then, the doorbell rang.

"It must be Thomas's lawyer." Gloria stood up. "I'll go open the door."

"Let me do it," Sean offered. "Please sit down and rest."

He walked to the door and opened it.

A tall, middle-aged man in a suit stood outside the door. He was about forty years old, with a robust build and a professionally aloof expression.

Sean's gaze fell on the numbers above his head.

【-85】.

This number made Sean's heart skip a beat.

He had seen this person before.

Just a few days ago, this person was also present in the crowd outside City Hall. At that time, he was holding a voice recorder and standing at the edge of the group of reporters, with a similar favorability rating of -85.

"Hello," the man said. "I'm Vincent Carter, Thomas Reynolds' lawyer. Is Ms. Gloria Williams here?"

Sean did not answer immediately.

He stared at the man who claimed to be a lawyer, his mind racing.

Why would a lawyer harbor such hostility towards him?

"Please come in." Sean stepped aside, a polite smile on his face. "Ms. Williams is inside."

Vincent Carter walked into the apartment, his gaze lingering on Sean for a second before shifting away. "Okay, thank you..."

"Mr. Sean Penn."

Sean's heart tightened as he looked at the expression on that calm and collected face.

That's the look on a hunter's face when he sees his prey.