Chapter 2 - THE VIDEO
Serena recovered quickly.
“It’s not what it looks like.”
James stared at her.
“What does it look like?”
She glanced around at the guests.
“That recording is misleading.”
Emily wiped her face.
“You told me not to come into the kitchen.”
Serena’s expression tightened.
“Because we were preparing the cake.”
James took the phone from Emily and replayed the clip.
The angle was imperfect.
There was no label visible on the vial.
No audio proving what Serena intended.
But one thing was clear.
She had poured something into the bowl and then hidden the empty vial in her palm.
James looked up.
“Why didn’t you tell anyone?”
Serena folded her arms.
“Because it was part of the recipe.”
“What was it?”
She hesitated.
That tiny pause changed the room.
Emily whispered, “She threw the vial away after.”
James looked at his daughter.
“How do you know?”
“I followed her.”
Serena snapped, “Emily.”
The child flinched.
James saw it.
His voice dropped.
“Don’t talk to her like that.”
Serena went still.
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The argument was no longer about a ruined cake.
It was about why a ten-year-old had been afraid enough to destroy it.
