"Hello. I understand your communication with your father began a little over a year ago. What can you say about him?" asked a pretty young reporter.
"When he showed up at my house, I told him that regardless of what he did, I would never forgive him. He accepted that. But as we talked, I came to understand that he truly repents."
"Have you forgiven him?"
"No. But I decided to give him a chance. After this interview, I'm heading to meet with my father."
"Do you consider your father a good politician?"
"I'll answer that question when his term ends. Any political figure should be judged by their deeds. It's too early to judge my father, but I want to believe he'll become one."
"You acted in films. I've seen both of your movies. Do you plan on returning to that in the future?"
"It's unlikely. The main reason I did it was my wife. Though I won't lie — it was an interesting experience."
Ray answered calmly, but the girl knew his story and realized she had nearly crossed a line. She hastily changed the subject:
"What do you plan to do now?"
"While I was undergoing rehabilitation, I had time to think. I'm very grateful to all the doctors who gave me back the chance at a normal life. But medicine doesn't interest me. Right now, I'm trying to get a position at 'World of Technology.' They have a department that develops medical technologies."
"I know we're straying a bit from the topic, but I'm very interested in the company's main shareholder and general director. Have you met him?"
"Miss Tacy Johnson, I understand you," Ray smirked. "Sergei Gromov is a very interesting man."
"His story has always intrigued me. I even conducted my own investigation. Where does an old war veteran get that kind of money?"
"I understand what you're thinking. But I'm almost certain there's nothing illegal about it. After the collapse of the Union, his granddaughter was raped and brutally murdered. After that, he and a group of his fellow soldiers left Russia. That's all I know."
They returned to discussing his father, and Tacy asked:
"Do you think the punishment your father received was enough?"
"No. And my mother knows this too. We've brought this topic up more than once. He told me he would dedicate the rest of his life to atonement."
"Do you believe that?"
"His actions seem sincere, and I want to believe it. But whether it's true or not — only time and his deeds will tell."
"May I ask you a personal question?" Ray asked.
The girl thought for a moment, then smirked:
"I suppose that would be fair. Only if it doesn't concern the color of my panties — then I'll try to answer."
"I'm very interested in that," Ray wrote with a slight smirk, "but let's save it for next time. I can see this job isn't very interesting to you."
"I didn't think it was that obvious," she admitted. "The truth is, I went into this profession to help people. It may sound arrogant, but I wanted to be a voice of truth."
"I was always interested in crime news and anti-corruption investigations. But even if I manage to find something truly significant — it never makes it to air," she said sadly, switching off the recorder.
After thinking for a moment, Ray took her hand and quickly wrote a phone number on her palm. It was so unexpected that Tacy didn't have time to react.
Coming to her senses, she said:
"No one's ever left me a number in such an original way. I'm sorry to disappoint you, but this is the number of a good friend of mine. He's launching his own TV channel specializing in crime topics. So, if you do decide to become a voice of truth — give him a call."
When Ray left, Tacy looked thoughtfully at the numbers written on her palm. She was confident in her looks. She was constantly sent to interview men, in the hope that in the presence of a beautiful girl, the interviewee's tongue would loosen. But this young man seemed not at all interested in her.
She had prepared for the meeting and knew his story — so she wasn't surprised. But she felt genuinely sorry for him.