Chapter 2
Ryan stared at the camera like it had grown teeth.
Linda wiped water from her chin.
“She’s bluffing.”
I was still coughing.
My throat burned where Ryan’s fingers had pressed.
But my hand was steady when I opened the security app.
The video loaded.
Ryan whispered, “Emily.”
“No.”
I pressed play.
On the screen, Linda stood in the living room alone, holding her phone.
Her voice filled the room.
“She’s almost broken. Ryan still believes me over her.”
Ryan’s face changed.
Linda stepped backward.
The voice on the phone was low, male, unfamiliar.
“You need her out before the audit.”
Linda said, “I know. If she files anything, Ryan loses the company account.”
My stomach dropped.
The company account.
Ryan’s business had been failing for months, but he kept saying everything was fine.
The man asked, “What about the money from her father?”
Linda laughed.
“She still doesn’t know Ryan moved it.”
I went cold.
My father’s money.
The inheritance he left me after he died.
Ryan had told me it was locked in probate.
Linda continued, “After tonight, I’ll make sure she looks violent. Ryan will throw her out himself.”
The video showed her placing the phone down.
Then walking toward me.
Then grabbing my hair.
Then shoving my face into the bucket.
Ryan watched in silence.
When the video ended, no one spoke.
Linda whispered, “That’s edited.”
I looked at my husband.
“You put your hand around my throat for her.”
His eyes filled.
“I didn’t know.”
“You didn’t ask.”
My phone shook as a new notification appeared.
Motion detected: Office.
The office was supposed to be empty.
I opened the live feed.
A man stood at Ryan’s desk, pulling files from the cabinet.
Linda screamed, “Turn that off!”
Ryan looked at the screen.
May you like
His face went white.
“Uncle Victor?”
