Chapter 6 - The Footage
By noon, the security company had processed my request and granted remote access to the encrypted cloud server.
My father sat in the sterile hospital chair beside my bed, his laptop open on his knees. My mother stood behind him, her hands resting on his shoulders. I lay perfectly still, listening to the faint tapping of the keyboard as my father navigated to the timestamp of the attack.
"I have it," my father announced softly.
He didn't describe the video to me; he didn't want to force me to relive the trauma through words. He simply pressed play.
Even with my eyes bandaged, the audio was unmistakable. The pristine microphone captured the rustle of my wedding dress in the suitcase, the sharp click of Vivian's heels on the marble floor, and the cruel hiss of her voice.
"One day married, and you already smell like you own the place."
Then, the sickening sound of the spray bottle. My agonizing scream. And Daniel’s cold, detached voice ordering me to stop overreacting.
The video lasted exactly forty-two seconds.
My father closed the laptop with a heavy, final snap. The silence in the room was absolute, pregnant with a terrifying, unyielding rage.
"I financed Cross Meridian Hotels eighteen months ago," my father said, his voice terrifyingly calm. "They were drowning in debt. I restructured their loans. Since then, they have missed two major financial covenant tests."
I turned my bandaged head toward his voice, confusion piercing through the pain. "You didn't foreclose?"
"I delayed enforcement," my father admitted, his voice thick with regret. "I signed the waivers because I knew you loved Daniel. I wanted to protect the family you were marrying into."
A sick, horrifying realization slowly moved through my entire body, turning my blood to ice.
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"Dad," I whispered, my voice trembling. "When did your firm approve the final extension on their loans?"
My mother answered, her voice hard as diamond. "Three weeks ago. And Daniel rushed the wedding date exactly four days later."
