Chapter 7: Paige Knew About the Accident

Paige closed the door behind her and leaned against it.

“You found something, didn't you?”

I kept my expression calm.

“Found what?”

She stared at me.

“Don't do that, Nora. Not with me.”

I sat down on the edge of the bed.

“You're the one who came here to talk.”

“About Mom.”

The room seemed to shrink around us.

I folded my hands in my lap.

“What about her?”

Paige looked toward the hallway before lowering her voice.

“Dad wasn't supposed to be driving that night.”

I said nothing.

She continued.

“He'd been drinking. Mom wanted to leave, and they argued. I heard them.”

My heart pounded.

“You heard them?”

Paige nodded.

“I was sixteen. I wasn't supposed to be awake, but I was.”

I watched her carefully.

“Why didn't you tell anyone?”

Her eyes dropped.

“Because Dad threatened me.”

For the first time, I saw something besides arrogance on Paige's face.

Fear.

“What did he threaten you with?” I asked.

She swallowed.

“He said if I told the police, he'd make sure everyone believed I caused the accident.”

I felt a chill move through me.

“You were sixteen.”

“It didn't matter to him.”

She sat across from me.

“After Mom died, Dad hired someone. A private investigator. He wanted every witness statement, every photograph, everything that could connect him to the crash.”

I already knew about the payment.

But I wanted to hear her say it.

“And you knew about that?”

Paige nodded.

“I found the payment record years ago.”

“Then why have you spent your entire life acting like nothing happened?”

Her jaw tightened.

“Because I was afraid.”

I almost laughed.

“You were afraid, so you made me the target instead?”

She looked away.

“It wasn't supposed to become this.”

“What wasn't?”

“The pranks.”

I stared at her.

“You locked me in a basement. You destroyed my apartment. You ruined my job interview. You left me in a blizzard.”

“I know.”

“And you filmed all of it.”

Her voice became smaller.

“Dad liked seeing you break down.”

My stomach twisted.

“What?”

Paige looked at me.

“He said that whenever you cried, you became easier to control.”

For a moment, neither of us spoke.

Then she reached into her handbag and pulled out a small black memory card.

“This is why I came.”

I didn't take it immediately.

“What's on it?”

“The original recording from the night of the accident.”

My breath caught.

“You have it?”

“I stole it from Dad's office years ago.”

She held it out.

“I never watched the whole thing.”

I took the card.

“Why give it to me now?”

Paige's eyes filled with tears.

“Because I thought your mountain stunt would scare you into coming back. I didn't know you'd actually leave.”

“So now you feel guilty?”

She shook her head.

“I'm terrified.”

“Of what?”

She looked toward the door again.

“Dad found out the files were accessed.”

My blood ran cold.

“When?”

“This morning.”

“How?”

“He monitors the family cloud.”

I immediately thought about the evidence I'd copied.

“Does he know I downloaded anything?”

Paige hesitated.

“He knows someone did.”

A heavy silence settled between us.

Then my phone buzzed.

A message from my father appeared.

“Come downstairs. We need to discuss what you've been looking at.”

Paige went pale.

“He knows.”

I locked my phone.

“Then it's time he realizes I'm not the little girl he could silence anymore.”

Paige stared at me.

“What are you going to do?”

I slipped the memory card into my pocket.

“I'm going to the gala.”

Her eyes widened.

“After everything?”

I nodded.

“Especially after everything.”

I stood and walked toward the door.

For ten years, they had used public humiliation to make me smaller.

At the gala, they were expecting another helpless Nora.

They had no idea what I was bringing with me.

Not a speech.

Not an apology.

Evidence.