Chapter 3: The Family Meeting
The next morning, I walked into my parents’ house.
Preston was already there.
Of course he was.
He sat on the couch like a king waiting for his servants.
“You owe me an apology,” he said immediately.
I almost laughed.
“For what?”
His expression hardened.
“For accusing me at my own wedding.”
I placed my phone on the table.
Then I played the video.
Nobody spoke.
Not even Preston.
The room became painfully quiet.
My mother covered her mouth.
My father slowly stood up.
The confidence disappeared from Preston’s face.
“You edited that,” he said.
A weak excuse.
The first crack in his perfect image.
I looked at him.
“You framed an eight-year-old child.”
His jaw tightened.
“She was the easiest person to blame.”
The words came out before he could stop them.
And everyone heard.
My mother looked at him.
“Preston…”
But he immediately changed.
“I didn’t mean it like that.”
I shook my head.
“No.”
I picked up my phone.
“You meant exactly that.”
My father stepped forward.
“Evelyn, this could ruin his career.”
I looked at him.
“And what about Sophie?”
Silence.
That question had no answer.
For the first time in thirty years…
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Preston was not the person everyone protected.
He was the person everyone feared.
