Chapter 9 - THE OFFER
I read the agreement twice.
The second time made it worse.
Forty thousand dollars.
In exchange, I would agree not to discuss the wedding incident publicly.
I would not share recordings.
I would not pursue claims related to the recovery fund beyond the agreed payment.
I would release my parents and Emily from future civil liability.
I looked up.
“You cannot be serious.”
Patrick Hale kept his face neutral.
“This is an attempt to avoid unnecessary conflict.”
“The conflict already happened.”
Emily stepped forward.
“Nobody wants this dragged through court.”
I looked at her.
“Especially you.”
Mom spoke softly.
“We thought this could give you something back.”
I turned toward her.
“Something back?”
“It’s forty thousand dollars.”
“Of money taken from me.”
My father said nothing.
He looked ashamed to be standing there.
I held the pages toward Patrick.
“Did they tell you the money in question came from a recovery fund created while I was a minor?”
He paused.
“I was given a general summary.”
“That means no.”
Emily rolled her eyes.
“This is exactly what you do.”
“What?”
“You make everyone sound criminal.”
Dad finally spoke.
“Emily, stop.”
She spun toward him.
“You’re the reason we’re in this position.”
“No.”
Dad looked at her.
“I’m one of the reasons.”
“The difference matters.”
It was the first time I had heard him accept responsibility without hiding behind the word family.
Patrick cleared his throat.
“I think emotions are high.”
I folded the agreement.
Then tore it in half.
Emily gasped.
I tore it again.
Patrick watched silently.
I placed the pieces inside the envelope and handed them back.
“No.”
Emily stared at me.
“You haven’t even talked to a lawyer.”
“I have an appointment this afternoon.”
That was a lie.
The appointment was tomorrow morning.
But Emily did not need my schedule.
Her face changed.
“With who?”
“Not your concern.”
Patrick raised a hand.
“I would strongly advise that future communication go through counsel.”
“I agree.”
He looked surprised.
“Good.”
I turned toward my parents.
“Do not come to my apartment without calling again.”
Mom whispered.
“We’re your parents.”
“Then act like people who care whether I feel safe.”
Her eyes filled.
I refused to rescue her from the discomfort.
Emily walked closer.
“You’re going to ruin Mom and Dad.”
I stared at her.
“They used my medical recovery fund.”
“They know what they did.”
“They took care of you for years.”
Something inside me flared.
“Did they?”
Emily’s mouth closed.
“I spent eighteen months in hospitals and rehabilitation centers.”
“I moved into an accessible apartment at twenty because the new house they bought had stairs everywhere.”
“I paid for my own attendant during two surgeries.”
“I covered equipment insurance rejected.”
I pointed at my wheelchair.
“This chair is six years old because I could not afford the replacement my doctor recommended.”
My mother began crying.
I continued.
“You watched me struggle.”
“All three of you.”
“And somewhere, sitting in old bank records, was proof that people had already given me money specifically so I wouldn’t have to.”
Nobody spoke.
Patrick looked uncomfortable now.
Good.
I turned my chair toward the apartment entrance.
Emily called after me.
“Daniel won’t answer my calls.”
I stopped.
There it was.
The actual reason she had come.
Not the money.
Not Mom.
Not Dad.
Daniel.
“That sounds like something between you and Daniel.”
“He thinks I’m a monster.”
I looked back.
“Do you want me to tell him you aren’t?”
She stared at me.
I waited.
She knew the answer.
I could not honestly say it.
Emily’s chin trembled.
“I loved him.”
“Then you should have trusted him with the truth.”
I went inside.
That evening, I received an email from Evan.
He had spoken with his attorney.
Because I was a participant in the recorded conversation, he could provide me with the audio segment involving me.
The file was attached.
Below it was another note.
There was also footage from the rehearsal dinner.
One of the roaming cameras had been recording near the bridesmaids’ table.
Evan had reviewed it.
May you like
He wrote six words.
You need to see this yourself.
