I opened our family group chat.
I need all five of you. Tonight. Bring what we discussed last month.
Daniel replied first.
Are you sure?
I looked at Sophie.
Then at the red mark forming around her wrist.
Absolutely.
Downstairs, Derek laughed with Vanessa, convinced he had finally forced me into submission.
I held my daughter tighter.
He had no idea he had just declared war on the family that had spent years teaching me how to win without raising my voice…
Part 2
Twenty minutes later, I went downstairs alone.
Vanessa had changed into one of my silk robes.
That nearly made me laugh.
Derek pointed toward two suitcases he had pulled from the closet.
“You have until midnight.”
“Fine.”
His expression changed.
He had expected me to beg.
Vanessa smiled. “See? This can be civilized.”
I poured myself a glass of water.
“Where did you buy the dress?”
She blinked. “What?”
“The ten-thousand-dollar dress.”
“Bellerose Atelier.”
“Receipt?”
Derek slammed his palm against the counter. “Why does that matter?”
“Because you’re demanding ten thousand dollars.”
Vanessa pulled a receipt from her handbag and tossed it toward me.
I photographed it.
Then I photographed the torn seam.
Her smile faded slightly.
Derek scoffed. “Playing detective?”
“No.”
I sent both photos to Ethan.
Then I walked toward the living room camera mounted above the bookshelf.
Derek followed.
“That camera hasn’t worked in months.”
“I know.”
He grinned.
What he didn’t know was that Ethan had replaced our security system after someone tried breaking into our garage six weeks earlier. The visible camera was dead.
The hidden backup wasn’t.
