The exposure

Seraphina POV

I didn't see the need to confront him because there was a chance he would deny everything and once he knew I was onto him, he'd do his best to cover his tracks.

Holloway's little confession was worth something, but it would take Mr. Sterling's people weeks to quietly confirm it through the right channels, and weeks weren't fast enough for what my sister was already building against me.

I knew exactly what she was building. I'd lived through where it ended.

By the time we got home, the party had winded down and at that point, only the family stayed behind to pretend the night hadn't been a disaster.

I excused myself to my room, sat on the edge of my bed before pulling out my phone.

I already knew the footage existed before I asked anyone to find it.

Years from now, in my last life, it was one of the only real things my lawyer ever managed to pull for me. I had watched it dozen times back then but at that point, it was too late to change anything and since it was buried in an old backup drive nobody had bothered to wipe, no one saw it all these while.

Despite me finding out about it in my past life, I remembered the hallway, the date stamped in the corner, the exact grainy angle of the kitchen entrance camera the staff always forgot was even there.

This time, I didn't need a lawyer for it. I needed someone willing to pull an old file off a home security system for money and nothing else.

I found the number online in a listing that still worked.

It was buried three names deep in an online board for people who did quiet, off-the-record work for anyone who paid on time.

I sent a short message: an address, information on the camera, a two-day window, and a price high enough that he wouldn't waste time asking why.

He wrote back within the hour.

‘half now, half on delivery’. I sent the first half without hesitating.

Close to midnight, a video file arrived with no message attached. He didn't know my name, and he didn't need to. to him, I was just a client who needed his services.

I watched it alone with the volume low.

It was grainy, but clear enough. Evelyn was in the back hallway, pressing an envelope into Rosa's hands.

Rosa was one of the maids who'd worked for us since I was a child, she was someone I used to sneak sweets to as a girl. On the recording, Evelyn leaned in close, the microphone in the camera catching her voice. The poor woman looked like she wanted to be anywhere else.

I'd heard what she did in my last life from Evelyn's own mouth, once but it was too late to matter.

She'd paid Rosa to start telling the staff, and eventually my parents, that I'd been acting strange and had started talking to myself, hiding things and losing them.

These were small lies that got planted early, so that by the time anyone needed to believe I was unwell, half the house already did.

It had worked, in my last life. It wasn't going to work in this one.

I came downstairs still in my gala dress and found my parents right where I'd left them.

"Can we watch something together?" I asked, picking up the remote before either of them could answer. "I think everyone could use it after tonight."

My mother gave me a tired, confused smile. My father just waved a hand toward the television. He looked like he could use a distraction and I was going to give it to him.

I plugged in my phone and let the video play.

It didn't take long. Thirty seconds, maybe less, before my mother sat forward and my father set down his cup entirely.

"Turn that off," my mother said quietly, though her eyes stayed on the screen. "Sera, what is this?"

"I found it on the old camera in the kitchen hallway," I said with a sad expression on my face like I hadn't wanted to be the one to show them. "I didn't want to believe it either."

Evelyn came down the stairs at exactly the wrong moment, still in her robe, hair damp from washing the wine out of it. She froze two steps from the bottom when she saw her own face on the screen.

"That's not — you're taking that completely out of context," she said, too fast.

"Then tell us the context," my father said. His voice had lost every trace of the jovial man from the gala. "Tell us why you're handing an envelope to Rosa in the back hallway at midnight."

Evelyn didn't have an answer ready. I watched her reach for one anyway, mouth opening but with no words coming out and felt satisfaction in my chest. Something I hadn't felt for years in my last life.

My mother was already on her feet. "Rosa has worked in this house for fifteen years. If you were paying her to say things about your sister —"

"I wasn't paying her to say anything," Evelyn cut in, already sounding defensive.

Nobody in the room believed her. I could tell from the expressions of everyone

Seeing this, I stepped forward.

“Sister, I thought you loved me.” I said sadly. “Why would you do that?”

Evelyn looked at me with a hint of hatred in her eyes before masking it with sobs.

“You would not understand.” She said, covering her face with her hands. “That isn't what it looks like.”

I hugged her softly, placing her head on my shoulder. “I believe you sis.”

I obviously did not and I was enjoying every bit of this.

My dad sighed before turning to me. "she's your sister, just let it go okay?"

"Yes my dear." my mum added. "she obviously didn't mean to hurt you so just let it go. I mean look at her, she is crying."

I wasn't surprised at all. My parents had always been these way. They'll see what Evelyn does and make excuses for so I expected this but that didn't lessen the pain I felt especially since she was adopted.

Before I could respond, my grandfather who none of us had noticed was in the living room spoke up.

"No!" he said. "There will be consequences for this." he ignored us and picked up his phone right there in the living room before calling the bank's after-hours line. I heard him give Evelyn's card numbers from memory, his voice flat.

"Freeze both of them," he said. "Until we sort out what's actually been going on in this house."

Evelyn's mouth opened again, but this time nothing came out at all.