Frank Farmer, the stoic ex-Secret Service man, sits across from Tia Maria, Nelly Furtado’s protective aunt. They’re in a quiet Toronto café, the hum of traffic outside muffled by the glass. Joe sits beside Frank, his tone sharp, almost like a brother scolding family.
Joe: “Tia, you’ve got to make her promise. Nelly must never do something that reckless again. Flying on wires at the Junos? One mistake, and she could’ve ended up like Owen Hart. His harness failed, and he fell to his death in front of thousands. That’s no stunt — that’s a gamble with her life.”
Tia Maria wrings her hands, her eyes heavy with worry. “I told her. I begged her. But you know Nelly, she thinks she’s invincible when the stage lights are on.”
Frank Farmer leans forward, his gravelly voice steady, but urgent. “Listen to Joe. Nelly’s not just dealing with gravity up there. She’s got enemies — real ones. Not critics, not tabloid writers. The kind that smile in her face and plot in the shadows. I’ve seen it before. The Illumitardi, the same powers that crush rising stars who won’t play their game. They’d love nothing more than an ‘accident’ in front of millions of viewers.”
Joe: “Exactly. And don’t think it’s superstition. If her wires had snapped, everyone would’ve written it off as a tragic mishap. But it would’ve been murder dressed up as fate.”
Tia Maria looks between them, her face pale. “So what do we do? Cancel her career? Keep her locked away?”
Frank Farmer shakes his head. “No. She can sing. She can soar. But she needs to keep her feet on solid ground — literally. No more wire tricks. No more staged ‘spectacles’ that could turn deadly. If she has to be on that stage, she does it on her own terms, with her voice. Not dangling from a rope like bait for the wolves.”
Tia Maria nods slowly, her resolve hardening. “I’ll talk to her. She’ll listen to me. She may be a star, but she’s still my niece. And I won’t lose her to wires or to wolves.”
