Chapter 2 — Four Minutes That Changed Everything
Chicago Police arrived before the reception resumed.
Detectives escorted everyone into separate rooms.
No one was allowed to leave.
Inside the ballroom's security office, the footage began playing.
4:17 p.m.
Guests entered.
4:43.
Sophie danced with the other flower girls.
5:06.
Preston placed his titanium phone inside his jacket.
5:11.
He quietly removed it.
Looked around.
Walked toward our family table.
Then...
He slipped the phone into Sophie's denim jacket pocket while she was helping the elderly pianist collect dropped sheet music across the room.
No one had been watching.
Except the camera.
The room fell silent.
The detective paused the video.
"Play it again."
They watched a second time.
Then a third.
Every movement.
Every glance.
Every deliberate step.
Premeditated.
Calculated.
Impossible to deny.
The detective slowly turned toward Preston.
"Would you like to explain this?"
May you like
He opened his mouth.
Nothing came out.
