Chapter 2 - THE VIDEO
Daniel ordered Emily inside.
Not Margaret.
Not Ashley.
Emily.
“You attacked both of them.”
Emily stared.
“Your mother grabbed me by the hair.”
Margaret touched her scalp dramatically.
“She assaulted me.”
Ashley held her cheek.
“She’s insane.”
Emily laughed.
Daniel snapped:
“Stop.”
Then Emily noticed the phone again.
Margaret had filmed part of the fight.
Not the beginning.
Only:
Emily throwing Margaret.
Emily slapping Ashley.
Emily pinning Ashley down.
Daniel taking Emily off them.
Perfect.
Emily reached for the phone.
Margaret stepped back.
“Don’t touch me again.”
There were two gardeners near the side gate.
Neither had seen the start.
One saw Emily slap Ashley.
Bad.
Then Daniel said:
“You need to leave tonight.”
Emily froze.
“What?”
“Stay somewhere else.”
“This is my house.”
Daniel looked at her.
“No. It’s not.”
That sentence landed.
Emily had paid:
renovation costs,
furniture,
household staff bonuses,
part of property taxes through joint accounts.
But title?
She had never checked.
Daniel added:
“My father’s trust owns the property.”
Margaret smiled.
There it was.
Emily said:
“I’m not leaving.”
Daniel’s eyes hardened.
“Then I’ll call the police.”
Emily stared at him.
He would.
Not necessarily to arrest her.
To create a record.
She understood that before she understood why.
Then Margaret said softly:
“You should go before you embarrass yourself more.”
Emily looked at her.
The satisfaction was too obvious.
May you like
This was not spontaneous.
Something had started before Margaret ever touched her hair.
