Chapter 14 - The Lie That Started Years Ago

I had been hearing some version of that accusation since I was twenty-seven. I'd refused to put my name on a personal guarantee for Dad's failing construction loan. He'd told relatives that I cared more about my new business than keeping workers employed. He never mentioned that his bank already held three liens or that the proposed loan required me to risk Harborlight's entire future.

Sloane had converted that refusal into family legend: Merritt ruined Dad. Merritt thought she was better than us. Merritt had money and kept it while everyone else suffered.

The truth was smaller and less flattering. I'd helped my parents with their mortgage for almost four years. I'd paid for Sloane's community-college tuition after she changed majors twice. I'd stopped when I discovered my tuition payments were funding a beach vacation she had told everyone Theo bought her.

Now, listening to Sloane threaten me over the phone, I realized she still thought my choices belonged to her.

I sent Mom a brief message: I WILL NOT SIGN FALSE DOCUMENTS. DO NOT CONTACT WITNESSES. SPEAK TO YOUR OWN LAWYER.

Theo called later that evening. He sounded exhausted. "I met with Frances. She showed me the ring box."

"What happened?"

"The ring my grandmother left me isn't in it. There's an imitation inside."

I gripped the phone. "Sloane switched it?"

"Frances says she brought the box to the suite weeks ago. Sloane told me the real ring was being cleaned. I called the jeweler. It wasn't."

He told me he had found a pawn receipt among the wedding paperwork. He wouldn't show it to Sloane until he'd confirmed what it meant. He still wanted to believe there was a decent explanation for at least one lie.

"Are you going to marry her?" I asked.

May you like

Billionaire’s Wife Kicked a Waitress in Front of 300 Elites—One Slap Exp...

The billionaire’s wife tried to kick a waitress in the face in front of 300 wealthy guests. But seconds later, she whispered three...

My Mother Grabbed My Wife by the Hair Over Cold Soup—But What My Father...

My mother grabbed my wife by the hair over a bowl of cold soup. And the most shameful part? For one terrible second, I almost defe...

My Parents Kicked My 6-Year-Old Daughter and Me Out on Christmas—Then I...

My mother kicked my six-year-old daughter out of Christmas dinner, never realizing I was the only reason she still had a house to...

There was a long pause. "I don't know what I'm going to do Sunday."

When we ended the call, a photo appeared on my phone from an anonymous account: my sister in her wedding dress, holding Theo's grandmother's ring beneath the chandeliers. The message under it said, IF YOU COME TO THE CEREMONY, WE'LL MAKE SURE YOU LEAVE ON A STRETCHER AGAIN.