Chapter 17 - The Plea
Natalie was the first to accept responsibility in court.
She admitted helping Preston plant the phone.
She admitted receiving money routed through North Harbor.
She admitted knowing the goal was to publicly embarrass me before Monday’s vote.
She denied knowing he intended physical violence.
The CCTV supported that part.
Her cooperation reduced her exposure in the financial investigation.
Afterward, she asked to speak with me.
I agreed once.
She sat across from me without makeup or jewelry.
“I’m sorry.”
I said nothing.
“I know that doesn’t fix anything.”
“No.”
“I should have stopped him.”
“Yes.”
Tears filled her eyes.
“I wanted the wedding.”
I stared at her.
She continued.
“I wanted the hotel.”
“The dress.”
“The photographs.”
“The life.”
“I kept telling myself Preston’s behavior was temporary.”
“So Sophie became acceptable collateral?”
Natalie flinched.
“No.”
“But that’s what happened.”
“Yes.”
For once, she did not argue.
I stood.
Before leaving, she said:
“There’s something you should know.”
I stopped.
“The board wasn’t Preston’s idea.”
“What?”
“Using the oak board.”
My body went cold.
She shook her head quickly.
“No.”
“I mean the menu board was already loose because Preston told staff he wanted it available.”
“Available for what?”
“He said he might make a dramatic speech at the end of the night and break something.”
I stared at her.
“He planned violence?”
“Toward an object.”
“At least that’s what he told me.”
That mattered.
The assault was not necessarily preplanned against Sophie.
But Preston had entered the wedding expecting rage.
Expecting destruction.
Expecting a performance.
When I said no, he redirected that rage toward us.
Julia gave the information to prosecutors.
The case did not need exaggeration.
The truth was bad enough.
My father also began negotiating.
He wanted to plead to financial charges while denying involvement in the staged accusation.
Then Marcus Lee’s guest video destroyed that strategy.
We said scare her, not this.
My father finally admitted he knew Preston planned to falsely accuse Sophie.
He claimed he never believed she would be physically harmed.
The admission did not make me feel better.
It made the betrayal more precise.
He had knowingly sacrificed his granddaughter’s dignity.
He simply objected when the price became blood.
Preston still refused any plea.
He wanted trial.
He believed a jury would understand him.
For the first time in his life, my brother was going somewhere my parents could not follow and fix things for him.
May you like
A courtroom.
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