Chapter 2 - The Digital Exhibit
Margaret motioned to the man standing behind her with the laptop. "Mr. Vance, show him."
The man stepped forward hesitantly, his fingers tapping nervously against the trackpad of the computer before turning the screen toward Nathan. "Mr. Carter... um, we received an anonymous compliance tip routed through the estate’s legal registry tonight. It contains public records and background filings from a small municipality in West Virginia."
Nathan didn't look at the screen. He kept his cold, unblinking stare fixed on his mother. "I said, what is the meaning of this?"
"It means your precious wife lied to you!" Margaret snapped, stepping past the threshold into the master suite uninvited, her eyes darting around the room until they landed on me standing beside the bed. "She let you play the white knight. She let the staff whisper. But she hid a criminal record, Nathan! Look at the court filings! Embezzlement? Fraud? Is this the mother you chose for your household?"
My breath caught.
Embezzlement? Fraud?
I stared at Margaret, my mind racing. That wasn't in my folder. My folder contained fire department reports, emergency medical bills, custody decrees, and birth certificates.
Nathan slowly turned his head to look at the laptop screen. Then, very deliberately, he looked back at Margaret.
"Mr. Vance," Nathan said smoothly. "Who authorized this search?"
"I did," Margaret said, crossing her arms with a self-righteous smirk. "When a woman enters our family under a cloud of mystery with three mysterious children back in the sticks, a mother does her due diligence. She’s a fraud, Nathan. And now she’s going to cost you your reputation."
I walked slowly around the foot of the bed, stepping into the light of the hallway. "Mrs. Carter," I said, my voice eerily calm. "What county did those records come from?"
Margaret sneered. "Randolph County, West Virginia. Five years ago. A corporate embezzlement case tied to an industrial logistics firm where you worked as a clerk. You were tried and convicted in absentia before you fled north."
A heavy silence fell over the hallway.
Nathan looked down at me, searching my face. There was no doubt in his eyes—only a quiet, unwavering demand for the truth.
May you like
"Well?" Margaret pressed, her voice rising in triumph. "Deny it, Emily. Tell my son you didn't rob your employer blind before running away to New York."
---
