Chapter 2: The Truth Has a Voice
Sophia moved first.
She lunged toward my phone so quickly that Ethan barely had time to react.
"Turn that off!"" she shouted.
I pulled the device against my chest.
"No.""
"You're recording me without my permission!""
"You've been living in my house for three months. The camera was installed because money kept disappearing from my bedroom.""
Ethan turned sharply.
"What money?""
I stared at him.
"Nearly eight thousand dollars.""
His mouth fell open.
"What are you talking about?""
"The cash in my locked box. It disappeared in installments. I thought someone was entering my room when I wasn't home.""
Sophia shook her head violently.
"This is insane. He's making all of this up because he wants to punish me!""
I tapped the screen.
The recording continued.
My recorded voice filled the room.
"You're my brother's wife.""
Sophia's recorded voice followed.
"That wasn't my question.""
Then came the sound of fabric tearing.
Ethan went completely still.
He watched the screen as his wife grabbed her blouse, ripped it open, and threw herself backward against the couch.
Then her scream erupted through the phone.
"GET AWAY FROM ME!""
Ethan looked up at her.
The woman beside him had stopped crying.
"That's edited," Sophia said quickly.
"He cut the beginning out!""
I turned the phone toward her.
"The recording is continuous. You can check the original file.""
"You could have made it look like anything!""
"Then explain why you asked me to keep our relationship secret.""
"I never said that!""
The recording answered for her.
"Nobody has to know.""
Ethan's face changed.
It wasn't anger anymore.
It was confusion, and beneath it, the first painful crack in his certainty.
He took one step away from Sophia.
"Tell me that's not you.""
Sophia grabbed his arm.
"Ethan, please. You're letting him manipulate you.""
He pulled away.
"That's your voice.""
"He took it out of context!""
"What context makes that sentence okay?""
She stared at him.
For the first time, she seemed to realize that the situation was slipping beyond her control.
I paused the recording.
"There's more.""
Ethan rubbed both hands over his face.
"Noah, start from the beginning. All of it.""
I almost laughed.
An hour earlier, he had punched me before I could finish a sentence.
Now he wanted the beginning.
I swallowed the bitterness rising in my throat.
"She started making inappropriate comments weeks ago. I kept telling her to stop. Today, she tried to kiss me. I moved her hands away, and she tore her own blouse when I said I was calling you.""
Ethan looked at Sophia.
"Is that true?""
She began crying again.
This time, the tears seemed less controlled.
"I was lonely," she said.
"You were never home. Noah was always there, and I made a stupid joke. He got angry and grabbed me.""
"You just said it was edited," I replied.
"Because you twisted everything!""
"Then tell us what actually happened.""
She opened her mouth.
Nothing came out.
Ethan stepped back another pace.
"Did you try to kiss my brother?""
Sophia pressed her palms together.
"Ethan, I made a mistake. But he didn't have to humiliate me like this.""
My brother looked at the torn blouse.
Then at the phone.
Then at me.
His jaw tightened.
"You let me hit you.""
The words were so quiet that I almost didn't hear them.
I stared at him.
"What?""
"You knew you were innocent. You knew there was a camera. Why didn't you stop me?""
For a moment, I couldn't speak.
Then I pointed toward my split lip.
"Because you were the one throwing punches, Ethan. I was trying not to fight you.""
He flinched.
"You could have told me.""
"I did tell you. You wouldn't let me finish.""
His eyes dropped to the floor.
I wanted an apology.
I wanted him to look at me the way he had before, when I was a frightened seventeen-year-old and he was the only person left who made the world feel survivable.
Instead, he turned back toward Sophia.
"Get your things.""
She stared at him.
"What?""
"We're leaving.""
"You're throwing me out over a video?""
"I'm asking you to come with me while we figure out what happened.""
"No."" Her voice hardened.
"You're choosing him.""
"I'm choosing to understand why you lied.""
Sophia's expression changed so dramatically that I barely recognized her.
She stopped pretending to be frightened.
"You know what your problem is, Ethan?"" she snapped.
"You always need to be the hero. You rescued Noah after your mother died, and you've spent the rest of your life treating him like he's incapable of surviving without you.""
Ethan's shoulders stiffened.
"Leave Noah out of this.""
"Why? He gets everything from you. Your attention.
Your loyalty. Your money when he needs it. And now you're going to throw away your marriage because he points a camera at me?""
"I didn't ask him to do anything," I said.
She rounded on me.
"Shut up!""
"No.""
The single word surprised all three of us.
I stepped away from the coffee table.
"You came after me. You tried to kiss me. When I refused, you tore your own clothes and accused me of assault. You don't get to tell me to be quiet in my own home.""
Her nostrils flared.
For one second, I thought she might strike me.
Instead, she snatched her handbag from the couch.
"Fine. You want the truth? Maybe I did flirt with him. Maybe I wanted to know if he was a man or just another one of Ethan's obedient little shadows.""
Ethan stared at her.
"Sophia.""
She ignored him.
"But I never thought you'd both turn on me like this.""
"You made the accusation," I said.
"You turned on us.""
She stormed toward the guest bedroom.
A drawer slammed.
Then another.
Ethan stood in the living room, staring at the frozen image on my phone.
I went to the kitchen, retrieved a clean towel, and pressed it against my mouth.
My jaw was swelling.
Ethan followed me.
"Noah.""
I didn't look at him.
"Don't.""
"Let me see your face.""
"I said don't.""
He stopped beside the counter.
"I'm sorry.""
I closed my eyes.
Those two words should have meant something.
Instead, all I could remember was his fist connecting with my face and his voice calling me a sick bastard.
"You didn't even ask me what happened," I said.
"I know.""
"You didn't ask whether I was okay.""
"I know.""
"You looked at me like you wanted to kill me.""
His voice broke.
"I thought she was telling the truth.""
"And you thought that meant you had the right to hurt me?""
He had no answer.
A moment later, Sophia returned with a suitcase.
Her eyes were dry now.
She had changed into a sweater and jeans, and she held her phone in one hand.
"I'm leaving," she announced.
"But don't think this is over.""
Ethan reached for the suitcase.
"Give me that.""
"Don't touch my things.""
He let go.
She turned to me.
"You think you've won because you have a recording?""
"I think the recording speaks for itself.""
She gave a short, bitter laugh.
"Recordings can be explained. People can be manipulated. And families don't always believe what they see.""
Then she walked toward the door.
Ethan followed her.
Before stepping outside, he looked back at me.
"I'll call you tomorrow.""
I didn't answer.
The door closed.
For the first time in three months, I was alone in my house.
I stood in the kitchen until the towel against my mouth was spotted with blood.
Then I returned to the living room and saved the recording to two separate locations.
I wasn't going to let anyone erase it.
At 8:47 that evening, my phone rang.
Ethan's name appeared on the screen.
I answered.
"Noah," he said, his voice strained.
"Sophia says she never tried to kiss you. She says you grabbed her first, and the recording only shows what happened afterward.""
I gripped the counter.
"Then she hasn't watched the whole recording.""
"There's something else.""
"What?""
"She says if I don't stand by her, she'll tell the police that you assaulted her.""
My stomach tightened.
"She already told you that.""
"No. Noah, you don't understand. She says she's going to report it officially.""
I looked toward the bookshelf.
The red light was no longer blinking. The camera had stopped recording, but the original file was safely stored.
"Let her," I said.
Ethan went silent.
Then he whispered something that made the room feel colder.
"Noah, she's already called someone.""
May you like
"Who?""
"The police.""
