Chapter 5 - A Family Breakfast|
By the time dawn broke, painting the sky in hues of pale pink and orange, I had gathered all the necessary evidence. I downloaded every single bank statement, digital receipt, and security video file from the restaurant directly onto my tablet. At exactly seven in the morning, I called my parents and invited them to breakfast at a small, quiet diner near my neighborhood. My voice over the phone was so remarkably calm that they didn't sense even the slightest hint of an anomaly.
When my parents sat down in the cozy booth, their coffees still steaming in front of them, I placed my tablet squarely in the middle of the table. Without uttering a single word, I pressed play on the security footage from the parking garage.
My mother dropped her fork onto her porcelain plate with a clatter. Her face instantly turned as pale as a sheet of paper. She clamped a hand over her mouth, entirely speechless, tears welling up in her eyes. My father, however, reacted differently. He watched the agonizing video a second time, his eyes narrowing to dangerous slits. The familiar, gentle lines on his face hardened into a terrifying, stony mask of absolute fury.
"What are you going to do?" my father asked.
His voice was low and steady, but harbored an explosive rage that was ready to detonate at any given second. I didn't answer right away. Instead, I slid the thick stack of printed financial expense reports across the table toward him.
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"First," I said, looking directly into my parents' eyes. "I'm going to find out whether they only betrayed my trust—or if they actually stole from all of us."
Right at that moment, the chime above the diner's front door rang out brightly. My father turned his head. Ethan walked in, with Madison right by his side. Both of them were smiling happily, likely thinking they could waltz in here and explain away last night’s harmless misunderstanding with a carefully rehearsed script.
