Chapter 8 - THE HIDDEN RECORDING
Eleanor confronted Sophie the next evening.
Not angrily.
That made Sophie more nervous.
“Did you know I was coming?”
Sophie’s face changed exactly enough.
“What?”
“As a maid.”
“No.”
Daniel was there.
He looked down.
Eleanor turned to him.
“Did you?”
“No.”
Too fast.
Eleanor placed the internal memo on the table.
Silence.
Sophie looked at Daniel.
Not surprised by the document.
Only angry.
Eleanor noticed.
“Try again.”
Sophie sat down.
Daniel spoke first.
“It was forwarded accidentally.”
“How long before my visit?”
“Eleven days.”
Eleanor closed her eyes.
Sophie said:
“Mom—”
“No.”
“I was going to tell you.”
“When?”
Sophie hesitated.
After the inheritance?
After the ring?
After the trust votes?
There was no good answer.
Then Eleanor asked:
“Did you record my visit?”
Sophie went still.
Daniel whispered:
“Don’t.”
Too late.
Eleanor stared.
“You recorded me?”
Sophie’s eyes filled.
“For protection.”
“From what?”
“In case Vanessa challenged the test.”
There.
A hidden smartphone had recorded the entire performance.
Not for memory.
For leverage.
Sophie had planned not just to pass.
To prove she passed.
Eleanor stood slowly.
May you like
The family ring was still on Sophie’s finger.
Now it looked different.
