Chapter 3 - THE CAMERA THAT WENT DARK Police arrived within minutes.
So did paramedics.
Sergeant Elena Ramirez questioned Claire while Lily was stabilized.
“Who struck the child?”
Claire pointed.
“My brother.”
Ethan shouted from across the ballroom.
“She ran into it!”
Vanessa stood beside him, crying.
Margaret repeatedly called it a misunderstanding.
Richard made one phone call.
Five minutes later, the hotel manager appeared.
“There’s a problem.”
Ramirez frowned.
“What problem?”
“The ballroom cameras suffered a server failure.”
Claire stared.
“When?”
“Approximately twenty minutes ago.”
“How convenient.”
Richard said nothing.
But Claire saw the smallest smile at the corner of his mouth.
The footage was gone.
The family had already started burying the truth.
Lily was rolled toward the ambulance.
“Mommy…”
Claire ran beside her.
Margaret grabbed Claire’s arm.
“If you accuse Ethan publicly, you’re finished.”
Claire slowly turned.
Margaret continued.
“No trust fund. No apartment. No family support.”
Claire looked at the woman who had given birth to her.
Then toward the stretcher carrying her daughter.
“You made one mistake.”
Margaret narrowed her eyes.
“What?”
“You thought I still cared about being a Bennett.”
Claire pulled her arm free.
May you like
She climbed into the ambulance.
And never looked back.
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