My sister pushed me through a glass door at my wedding, but the hospital scan revealed an even darker secret: she had fractured my skull when we were children.

My mother flinched, looking at Leander in disbelief. "Leander, you can't—"

"Quiet, Evelyn," Leander barked without looking at her. He kept his cold, reptilian gaze fixed on me. "Your grandmother’s secondary trust matures next year. It was designated for Vesper’s future business ventures. It contains approximately four hundred and fifty thousand dollars."

He leaned forward on his cane.

"You sign a non-disclosure agreement. You hand over all copies of the country club footage. You sign an affidavit stating that the incident on the terrace was a tragic mutual collision caused by crowding at the exit doors. You drop your complaint with the commonwealth’s attorney, and you publicly state that Vesper’s fundraiser was closed due to an administrative error by third-party trolls."

"Four hundred and fifty thousand dollars," Declan repeated, a mocking edge to his voice. "Is that the going rate for an Avery cover-up these days?"

"It is a generous settlement for a girl who has spent her whole life playing the victim," Leander said coldly, staring Declan down. "Declan, you’re an attorney. You know how this works. If you drag this into court, Arthur Pendelton will testify that the terrace floor was slick from spilled drinks. Evelyn and Thomas will testify that Sloane has had psychiatric instability since she was an adolescent. We will bring in character witnesses from every club in Richmond. We will destroy your wife’s credibility before she ever sets foot in front of a jury."

My father looked down at his shoes, unable to look at me. My mother stood tall, a smug, desperate look returning to her eyes.

"Think about your future, Sloane," my mother whispered. "Four hundred and fifty thousand dollars. You can renovate this house. You can take a year off from your job. Don't be bitter. Vesper is your sister. What kind of person destroys her own sister over an accident?"

I looked at the three of them. For years, I had craved their approval. I had run errands for Vesper, cheered in the stands at her matches, swallowed my own achievements so she wouldn't throw a tantrum at the dinner table. When I graduated magna cum laude, my mother had spent the entire graduation lunch talking about Vesper’s new tennis coach.

They didn't see me as a daughter or a niece. I was an auxiliary organ, existing only to supply blood to their golden child whenever she bled.

"You really think this is about money?" I said softly.

Uncle Leander smiled thinly. "Everything is about money, Sloane. Pride is an expensive luxury."

"Declan," I said without looking away from Leander. "Show them the tablet."

Declan walked over to the sideboard and picked up his iPad. He tapped the screen and turned it toward them.

On the screen was not the wedding footage.

It was an active, live-streamed recording of the Richmond Police Department’s Second Precinct holding desk, where Frank Vance was currently sitting with Detective Miller of the Major Crimes Division.

"We didn't just request the country club footage, Uncle Leander," I said, watching the blood instantly drain from Leander’s face. "While you were driving over here to bribe me, Frank was handing Detective Miller the forensic report on Arthur Pendelton’s server wipe. And Arthur? Arthur folded twenty minutes ago when the detectives showed up at his office. He confessed that Dad paid him ten thousand dollars in cash from the Avery corporate account to destroy the security tapes."

My father let out a choked gasp, clutching his chest. "Thomas... no..." my mother whimpered.

"That's commercial bribery, tampering with physical evidence in a felony investigation, and conspiracy," Declan said, stepping beside me. "And as of five minutes ago, Uncle Leander, you just walked into my private residence and offered a four-hundred-and-fifty-thousand-dollar bribe to suppress testimony in a criminal prosecution. Did you forget Virginia is a one-party consent state?"

Declan tapped the discreet microphone pinned to his collar.