CHAPTER 1: THE FOOTAGE

The sirens arrived before the truth did.
Paramedics rushed Sophie onto a stretcher while I followed, my hands still stained with her blood. Behind me, the ballroom buzzed back to life—not with concern, but with whispers.
“Did you hear? She stole it.”
“Runs in the family.”
“Preston’s always been the good one…”
I didn’t turn back.
But Preston did.
He stood frozen near the head table, staring past the crowd—past the lies—at the small black dome mounted above the ballroom doors.
May you like
The security camera.
For the first time in his life, my brother looked uncertain.