Chapter 17 - The Christmas Eve Statement
Corinne had rented the town's old banquet hall and decorated it with silver branches, fake snow, and framed photographs of herself volunteering. A banner over the stage read CHRISTMAS IS ABOUT FAMILY.
I nearly turned around at the door. Grandma, cleared to go home and determined to come, hooked her arm through mine.
"We don't have to stay," she said. "But don't let her decide where you can stand."
Dad was already onstage in a dark jacket. Corinne hovered beside him, smiling for phones raised among the tables.
"We've had a difficult season," she began. "Sometimes mental-health struggles hurt everyone around the person suffering. But Daniel and I believe in forgiveness."
People shifted uncomfortably. She nodded toward Dad.
He unfolded a sheet of paper. His hands shook.
"My wife prepared a statement for me to read tonight," he said. "I'm not going to read it."
Corinne's smile disappeared.
"For weeks," he continued, "I've told people my daughter damaged our Christmas display and caused trouble at the bakery. That wasn't true. I knew it wasn't true. I failed to defend her because I was afraid of what honesty would cost me."
The room quieted.
"Our family business is under financial review. A fundraiser was advertised without the bakery's authorization. If you donated, please contact the platform for its refund process. We've asked the authorities to examine the records."
Corinne lunged for the microphone. "He's under terrible stress. This is a private matter."
Dad stepped away from her. "The lies were public. The correction has to be public too."
I felt something shift in my chest. It wasn't forgiveness. Not yet. It was the sound of him finally saying what had happened.
Corinne looked toward me with an expression I had never seen before. Pure hatred, stripped of manners.
"You've ruined everything," she hissed as she passed our table.
"You made your own choices," I replied.
She stopped long enough to whisper, "Ask your father why I took the cash box. He knows what's inside."
May you like
Then she disappeared through the side exit.
Outside, a car engine roared to life. Dad's phone buzzed with a security alert from the bakery. Someone had unlocked the rear door after hours.
