Chapter 13 - The Cracks in the Facade
|
The screen trembled slightly in Detective Singh’s hands as Nora buried her face in her palms. Her shoulder blades shook with heavy, ragged breaths. For years, I had viewed Nora as an extension of Victor—a cold, complicit spectator who derived twisted pleasure from my unraveling. Seeing her broken like this didn't bring me joy, but it shattered the illusion that Victor’s kingdom was impenetrable.
“He has dirt on everyone, Emily,” Nora whispered, raising her red, swollen eyes toward the camera. “He keeps files on everyone in the family. Me, Mom, even his business associates. He told me that if I ever stopped recording you, or if I ever tried to help you, he would post things about my past that would destroy my life forever.”
My attorney, Samuel, leaned slightly toward the microphone. “Nora, if Victor threatened you, that constitutes extortion under state law. Are you willing to make an official sworn statement to Detective Singh?”
Nora swallowed hard, looking off-camera as if expecting Victor to burst through her door at any second. “I already gave the police my phone. But there’s more. He has an external hard drive hidden inside the hollowed-out base of the grandfather clock in the foyer at Oakridge. That’s where he keeps the master unedited files.”
Detective Singh’s eyes sharpened instantly. She tapped her pen against her notepad, her professional composure hiding her sudden adrenaline surge. “Are you certain about that location, Nora?”
“Yes,” Nora sobbed. “I watched him lock it in there two nights ago after the ambulance took Emily away. He was drinking scotch and laughing with Mom about how much money he was going to get from your father’s estate once he had you declared legally incompetent.”
My father, standing silently behind my hospital bed, let out a sound that was half-growl, half-gasp. His hand clamped down on the metal bedframe so hard his knuckles turned ghostly white.
May you like
“Thank you, Nora,” I said, my voice steady and strangely hollow. “That’s all I needed to hear.”
I gestured for Samuel to end the call. The screen went dark, but the air in the room remained charged with thunderous intent.
