Chapter 3 — The Truth No One Could Escape
The next video began.
Audio accompanied this one.
It showed Preston walking toward Sophie.
Accusing her.
Searching her jacket.
Producing the phone.
Then came the assault.
The detective stopped the recording immediately after the oak board struck the child's head.
No one in the room breathed.
Even my father looked away.
My mother whispered,
"He didn't mean..."
The detective interrupted.
"He intentionally struck an eight-year-old child with a wooden object."
He closed the laptop.
"This investigation is no longer about theft."
"It's about child assault."
Preston stood.
"You don't understand."
The detective's expression hardened.
"Oh..."
"I understand perfectly."
Officers approached.
Handcuffs clicked around Preston's wrists.
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For the first time in his life...
No one rescued him.
