Chapter 2 - THE UNEDITED TAPE
The drive to White Plains took forty-five minutes. My scalp throbbed with every bump on the Interstate, but the pain kept me grounded.
When we pulled up to my parents' sprawling brick colonial, Delaney’s Range Rover was parked in the driveway alongside three black SUVs belonging to her production crew. Lights blazed from the second-floor windows. They were still filming.
"How are we getting June out?" Bellamy asked, idling near the stone mailbox.
"She turns eighteen in eighty-two days, but right now, my father is her legal guardian," I said, unbuckling my seatbelt. "He won't stop me. He's too terrified of a scandal."
I walked up the front steps, not bothering to knock. I used my old key, the brass cold against my fingers, and pushed the door open.
The foyer smelled of stale wedding flowers and professional stage fog.
In the living room, Delaney was sitting on a cream velvet sofa, wearing a silk robe. Ring lights surrounded her. A cameraman leaned in while a makeup artist touched up a fake tear on her cheek.
"...and despite the violence from my own sister," Delaney was saying into a clip-on lapel mic, her voice dripping with calculated sorrow, "I just want our family to heal..."
"Cut!" I shouted, stepping into the frame.
The cameraman jumped. The director lowered his clipboard.
Delaney snapped her head toward me, her sad expression vanishing instantly into pure fury. "What the hell are you doing here? You're trespassing!"
"I live here on weekends when I visit my niece," I said, walking straight toward the stairs. "Or have you forgotten who actually pays the property taxes on this house since Dad’s business stalled?"
My father stepped out of his study, looking pale and exhausted. "Sloan... please. The crew is trying to finish the post-wedding wrap-up episode."
"Dad, where is June?"
"She's upstairs in her room," Thatcher Ward said, avoiding my eyes. "She's upset. It was a long night for everyone."
"She's upset because your youngest daughter had her maid of honor trap her in a doorway while blood was pouring out of my head," I snapped.
I didn't wait for his answer. I marched up the carpeted stairs to the end of the hall and knocked gently on June's door.
"June bug? It's Aunt Sloan."
The lock clicked. The door opened three inches. June’s swollen, red-rimmed eyes met mine through the crack. When she saw the thick white bandage taped across my hairline, a fresh wave of tears spilled over her lashes.
"Aunt Sloan," she whispered, pulling the door wide. "I'm so sorry. I told them not to... I saw Marin put something in the tiara in the bridal suite..."
My blood ran cold. "You saw her?"
June nodded, her shoulders shaking. "I took a video on my phone. I was hiding in the dressing closet because Delaney was screaming at the florists. I saw Marin using pliers on the inside of the crown. I didn't know what she was doing until... until you bled."
I pulled my niece into my arms, holding her tight while she sobbed against my shoulder.
"Get your bag," I whispered in her ear. "You're coming with me."
May you like
"They won't let me," June hiccuped. "Grandma took my car keys. She said if I leave, she'll freeze my mother's trust."
"Your mother's trust is already gone, June," I said softly, stepping into her room and pulling a duffel bag from her closet. "And tonight, we're going to go find out where it went."
