CHAPTER 2
For six months, Richard had been telling everyone Emily was unstable.
He said she cried too easily.
He said she forgot things.
He said she imagined insults where there were none.
He said she was jealous of Vanessa because Vanessa was successful, elegant, useful.
No one asked why Vanessa was always at the mansion after midnight.
No one asked why Richard changed the locks on Emily’s office.
No one asked why Emily’s signature suddenly appeared on financial documents she had never seen.
The Whitmore family only asked one question.
“What did Emily do this time?”
That was how powerful Richard was.
He did not need to shout to ruin someone. He only needed to sound disappointed.
Emily had tried to explain it before.
To his mother.
To his cousins.
To the board members who used to smile at her father.
To friends who suddenly stopped inviting her to dinner.
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Every time, Richard would sigh, lower his eyes, and say, “She’s not herself lately.”
And just like that, Emily became the problem.
