Chapter 2 - THE VIDEO ON THE SCREENFor three seconds, nobody moved.
Then Rachel ran.
I had never seen my sister move that fast.
Her champagne glass hit the floor, shattering beneath the head table as she gathered the enormous skirt of her wedding dress and rushed toward the DJ booth.
“DON’T!”
The microphone amplified her scream.
Every conversation stopped.
The DJ, a young man named Marcus, stared at Chloe and then at Rachel.
“Ma’am, I—”
“Give me that USB.”
Rachel reached the platform.
I stepped between her and my daughter.
“Don’t touch her.”
Rachel’s face twisted.
“You have no idea what she stole.”
“She didn’t steal anything.”
“Emily, move.”
“No.”
Our mother hurried toward us.
“What on earth is happening?”
Rachel pointed at Chloe.
“She broke into my computer.”
Chloe immediately shook her head.
“You told me to fix the slideshow.”
Mom looked confused.
“I did.”
Rachel turned on her.
“You what?”
“The presentation wasn’t loading.”
“You let her touch my laptop?”
“She’s good with computers.”
For once, Mom’s habit of treating Chloe like unpaid technical support worked in our favor.
Preston had approached now.
He was still wearing the calm expression of a man who assumed the problem was minor.
“What’s on the drive?”
Rachel turned.
“Nothing.”
Preston looked at her.
Then Chloe.
“Sweetheart, what did you find?”
Rachel grabbed his arm.
“Preston, this is ridiculous. She’s a child.”
Chloe looked at him.
“There’s a video of Aunt Rachel kissing your brother.”
The room seemed to inhale.
I heard somebody whisper, “Oh my God.”
Ryan, standing near the altar, went white.
Preston slowly turned toward him.
Rachel laughed.
It sounded artificial.
Panicked.
“Are we seriously taking the word of an eight-year-old?”
Ryan didn’t laugh.
That was the first mistake.
Preston saw it.
“Ryan?”
“Man…”
One word.
That was all it took.
Rachel spun toward him.
“Shut up.”
Three hundred guests watched.
The wedding photographer lowered his camera.
Even the string quartet had stopped.
Preston looked at the DJ.
“Play it.”
Rachel’s face lost color.
“No.”
“Play it.”
“Preston.”
His voice hardened.
“Marcus, play the file.”
Marcus looked deeply uncomfortable.
“I’m not sure I should—”
“I am the groom. I rented this entire system. Play it.”
Rachel grabbed the USB from Chloe’s hand.
Or tried.
Chloe stepped back.
Rachel caught her wrist.
My instincts took over.
I removed Rachel’s hand immediately.
“Never grab my daughter again.”
Rachel glared at me.
“This is your doing.”
“No.”
“You put her up to this because you hate me.”
“I didn’t even know the drive existed until five minutes ago.”
“You’re jealous.”
A strange calm settled over me.
“Rachel, if that video is fake, let them play it.”
She stopped.
And everyone saw her stop.
Preston saw it most clearly.
His eyes changed.
“Play the video.”
Chloe handed Marcus the USB.
Marcus inserted it.
The giant screen behind the dance floor went black.
Folders appeared.
One was labeled FINAL WEDDING SLIDESHOW.
Another had no name.
Just a date.
Marcus clicked it.
The screen flickered.
Then Rachel appeared.
She was in a kitchen.
Not the ballroom.
Not the estate.
A modern apartment I didn’t recognize.
Ryan stood across from her.
His voice came through the ballroom speakers.
“We can’t keep doing this.”
Rachel folded her arms.
“You weren’t complaining last weekend.”
A collective murmur passed through the guests.
Rachel rushed toward the equipment.
Preston blocked her.
“Don’t.”
“Preston, please.”
The video continued.
Ryan rubbed both hands across his face.
“He’s my brother.”
“And I’m marrying him, not becoming a nun.”
Gasps erupted.
My mother clutched a chair.
Our father, Howard, who had remained silent through most of the confrontation, stood near the bar staring at Rachel as though he had never seen her before.
Onscreen, Ryan said, “You told me you loved me.”
Rachel replied, “I told you what you needed to hear.”
The ballroom became deathly quiet.
The next scene was unmistakable.
Rachel kissed him.
Not a quick kiss.
Not something that could be explained away.
Preston looked physically ill.
Marcus paused the video.
Nobody told him to.
He simply seemed unable to keep playing it.
Rachel turned to Preston.
“That was months ago.”
Ryan stared at her.
“Three weeks.”
Rachel shot him a murderous look.
Preston whispered, “Three weeks?”
“Nothing happened.”
Ryan laughed once.
A bitter sound.
“Rachel.”
“Shut up.”
Preston removed his boutonniere.
“What else is on the drive?”
Rachel looked terrified.
“Nothing.”
Chloe quietly said, “There are twelve videos.”
The bride screamed.
“STOP TALKING!”
Preston flinched.
I pulled Chloe against me.
That was enough.
Whatever sympathy I might have felt for my sister disappeared when she screamed at my child as if an eight-year-old had created Rachel’s betrayal.
Preston looked at Marcus.
“Play another.”
The second video was worse.
Rachel and Ryan were sitting on a couch.
Rachel was talking about Preston’s family.
And money.
“The trust changes after the wedding, right?”
Ryan hesitated.
“Yes.”
“And he can access the property portfolio?”
“Rachel…”
“I’m asking a question.”
“You sound like you’re marrying his accountant.”
She smiled.
“I didn’t spend two years pretending to like yacht clubs for nothing.”
Someone near Preston’s family table cursed.
His mother sat completely still.
His father stood.
Rachel suddenly lunged toward the projector controls.
Preston caught her arm.
“Enough.”
Tears appeared instantly.
“Baby.”
“Don’t call me that.”
“It isn’t what it looks like.”
He stared at her.
“It is literally a video.”
A strange laugh rippled through the room.
Rachel looked around desperately.
Then she pointed at me.
“She did this.”
I almost admired the commitment.
“My divorced sister has been jealous of me since we were teenagers. She used Chloe to sabotage my wedding.”
I stared at her.
“You cheated with the groom’s brother.”
“You edited the videos.”
“Emily doesn’t know how to edit video,” Chloe said.
Several guests laughed.
Not kindly.
Rachel’s face reddened.
Our mother finally stepped forward.
“Everyone calm down.”
Preston looked at her.
“Did you know?”
Mom recoiled.
“Know what?”
“About Rachel and Ryan.”
“No!”
Rachel looked at her.
Too quickly.
That tiny glance was enough.
Preston noticed.
So did I.
“Mom?” I said.
Her silence answered before her mouth did.
My stomach dropped.
“Mom knew?”
Rachel whispered, “Emily, don’t.”
I stared at the woman who had criticized my dress ten minutes earlier.
“You knew your daughter was sleeping with the groom’s brother?”
Mom shook her head.
“I didn’t know exactly.”
Preston’s father stepped closer.
“What did you know exactly?”
Mom’s hands trembled.
“I knew there had been… inappropriate communication.”
Ryan laughed without humor.
“That’s one way to put it.”
Preston turned away.
His father followed him.
Guests whispered everywhere.
Some pulled out phones.
The wedding coordinator looked ready to faint.
Then another person approached the DJ booth.
A woman I recognized vaguely as Rachel’s maid of honor.
Samantha.
She had tears in her eyes.
“Preston.”
He stopped.
“There’s something else.”
Rachel stared at her.
“Samantha.”
Samantha ignored her.
“The USB isn’t the worst thing.”
Rachel’s voice became low.
“Do not do this.”
Samantha looked at Preston.
“The wedding isn’t only about your trust.”
Preston frowned.
“What are you talking about?”
Samantha reached into her handbag.
She pulled out a folder.
“I found these yesterday.”
Rachel ran toward her.
Our father grabbed Rachel before she reached Samantha.
The room erupted.
“LET GO OF ME!”
Dad stared at his favorite daughter.
For the first time in my life, there was no admiration in his expression.
Only horror.
Samantha handed the folder to Preston.
He opened it.
His eyes moved across the first page.
Then the second.
His face went gray.
“What is this?”
Rachel stopped struggling.
Nobody answered.
Preston lifted the papers.
“What the hell is this?”
Samantha swallowed.
“Documents transferring three of your company’s properties to an LLC.”
Preston stared at her.
“Whose LLC?”
Samantha looked directly at Rachel.
May you like
“Yours and Ryan’s.”
And just like that, a cheating scandal became something much bigger.
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