Chapter 2 - The Stolen Truth
The air left my lungs in a painful rush.
I stared at my mother, unable to comprehend how she could weaponize a trauma I had barely survived.
"Don't you dare," I whispered, my voice trembling as the memory of my old boss's harassment flooded my mind.
"She was fired for trying to blackmail the CEO of her last marketing firm," my mother declared loudly, ignoring my plea.
"She is a manipulative liar who will drain your bank accounts the second you turn your back."
Aunt Marlene nodded eagerly, swirling the last drops of wine in a new glass she had just poured.
"It's true, Mr. Hale, she has a history of targeting wealthy men," Marlene added with a malicious grin.
I waited for Alexander to pull away from me, expecting the seeds of doubt to finally take root in his mind.
Instead, a dark, dangerous chuckle escaped his lips.
"You mean Richard Vance at Apex Innovations?" Alexander asked, raising an eyebrow at my mother.
My mother blinked, clearly thrown off balance by his specific knowledge.
"Yes, exactly," she stammered, crossing her arms defensively.
Alexander pulled his phone from his inside pocket and tapped the screen a few times.
"That's fascinating, considering I bought Apex Innovations six months ago specifically to audit their HR department," he said flatly.
"I have the security footage of Vance assaulting my wife, and the settlement documents he signed when I forced him to resign."
My father let out a loud gasp, finally realizing the immense power of the man standing in their foyer.
"You didn't know?" Alexander asked my mother, his voice dripping with condescension.
"You didn't know your own daughter was a victim, because you never bothered to ask her why she came home crying that night."
Tears blurred my vision, not from sadness, but from the overwhelming relief of finally being defended.
Lucas stormed down the rest of the stairs, his face flushed with anger as he pointed a finger at our mother.
"Is this true?" Lucas yelled. "Did you lie to us about why Emily lost her job?"
Before my mother could invent another excuse, the front door swung open again.
Chloe, Lucas's beautiful bride-to-be, stepped inside carrying a stack of floral arrangements.
"Lucas, we have a huge problem," Chloe said, her voice shaking as she dropped the flowers on the entry table.
May you like
She looked at my mother with absolute terror in her eyes.
"The catering company just called and said the payment bounced because someone drained our joint wedding fund."
