Chapter 6 - The Paper Trail
We arrived at Maya’s apartment and plugged the drive into her high-powered workstation.
The video footage loaded instantly, crisp and painfully clear in four-thousand-pixel resolution.
Watching the screen felt like living through the nightmare all over again.
There was Preston, looking nervously over his shoulder as he tucked the phone into Sophie's little jacket.
There was my daughter, smiling innocently as she ate her frosting, completely unaware of the trap closing around her.
And there was the sickening, brutal moment the heavy oak board struck the side of her small head.
I had to look away, covering my mouth as a wave of nausea washed over me.
"Look at the bottom screen," Maya pointed out, her eyes fixed on the financial metadata Diaz had extracted.
"Preston was managing the offshore investment portfolio for his bride's family foundation."
"He lost over fourteen million dollars in illegal high-risk derivatives trading last month."
"He knew the quarterly financial statements were going to be reviewed this morning by the board of trustees."
"By claiming his phone and encrypted authentication keys were stolen at the wedding, he was buying time to flee the country."
I stared at the screen in pure disbelief.
"He ruined my child's life and assaulted her just to buy himself a few hours of an alibi?" I asked.
"He's a narcissist who has never faced a consequence in his entire life," Maya replied coldly.
"He genuinely believed your parents would make you take the blame, just like they always did when you were kids."
Suddenly, Maya’s phone buzzed with an urgent news alert from the Chicago Tribune.
She tapped the screen, and a headline popped up that made our blood run cold.
"Prominent Groom Preston Vance Files Restraining Order Against Sister Following Wedding Disturbance."
The article quoted a statement released by my father's high-priced public relations firm.
It claimed that I had violently attacked the wedding party after my daughter was caught stealing expensive electronics.
It even claimed that I had inflicted the head injury on Sophie myself to frame my brother out of spite.
The public comments below the article were already flooded with vicious threats and vitriol directed at me.
"They're trying to destroy your reputation in the press before you can even speak," Maya said, her jaw tightening.
May you like
"Then let's stop playing defense," I said, standing up with absolute certainty.
"We aren't going to the police station; we are taking this live to the entire world."
