Chapter 5 - The First Blow
Leona tried to stay calm.
“That belongs to me.”
Wyatt rolled the camera between his fingers.
“You recorded me.”
“In my house.”
“My private conversations.”
“You stole our documents.”
His jaw tightened.
“You don’t know what you heard.”
“I heard enough.”
He stepped closer.
“Delete it.”
“No.”
“Delete it now.”
“No.”
The word surprised both of them.
Wyatt’s hand closed around the camera until the plastic cracked.
“You think Dad will believe you?”
“I don’t need him to believe me. I have the recording.”
Wyatt threw the broken device into the sink.
Then he shoved Leona against the counter.
Not hard enough to knock her down.
Hard enough to make his meaning clear.
She stared at him.
He stared back.
The silence between them felt more frightening than a scream.
“Tell Dad,” he whispered. “See what happens.”
Leona waited until Wyatt left the room.
Then she locked herself inside the downstairs bathroom and called Harrison.
He was in Raleigh for a two-day conference.
The moment she heard his voice, courage left her.
“How was your presentation?” she asked.
“Fine. What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.”
“Leona.”
She touched the back of her shoulder where it had struck the counter.
“I need you to come home tomorrow.”
“I can leave tonight.”
“No. Tomorrow is fine.”
“What happened?”
She looked at herself in the mirror.
“Wyatt and I argued.”
“Did he hurt you?”
The question came too quickly.
Harrison had already suspected something.
Leona began to cry.
Not loudly.
Just one breath that cracked in the middle.
Harrison’s voice changed.
“I’m coming home.”
He arrived after midnight.
Wyatt was gone.
Leona showed him the recordings, photographs, bank alerts, and broken camera.
Harrison did not interrupt.
He did not curse.
He listened to every second.
When Tara’s voice mentioned the duplex, Harrison replayed it.
When Wyatt said his mother would rather be hurt than expose him, Harrison stopped the audio.
His face became still.
“Has he hit you?”
“No.”
“Has he pushed you?”
She hesitated.
Harrison closed his eyes.
“How many times?”
“Twice.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because he’s our son.”
“No,” Harrison said. “That is why you should have told me.”
Before sunrise, Harrison called David Chen.
By breakfast, they had begun preparing the sealed brown folder.
But Wyatt returned before the papers were ready.
May you like
And this time, he had been drinking.
👉 Harrison finally knew the truth, but Wyatt’s next act would leave a bruise that no apology could hide.
