Chapter 3 - Twenty Witnesses

“She grabbed you after you swung a belt at her,” the officer said. “Is that correct?”

David swallowed. “Yes.”

Robert cut in. “She trained to hurt people. Ask anyone.”

“Sir, I'm speaking to your son.” Officer Collins pointed toward the hallway. “Everyone else, please stay back.”

I told her exactly what happened. I showed her the buckle mark in the table and the untouched skin on my hands. Aunt June played her recording. You could hear Robert give the order and see David lift the belt before I moved.

Officer Collins watched twice. “This doesn't support the version you called in,” she told Robert.

“It's one angle.”

“Then preserve the other one. Don't delete anything.”

She documented the scene and explained that a report would go to investigators. No handcuffs, no dramatic victory. Just twenty relatives suddenly interested in their shoes.

Helen followed me into the foyer. “He gets like this when he's afraid.”

“Then he should learn to be afraid without hurting people.”

She flinched. “You don't understand the pressure.”

“I understand what his son held in his hand.”

I took my coat and walked outside. David hurried after me.

“Where are you going?”

“Somewhere you don't have a key.”

“Mara, please. Let me explain.”

“Explain it to the officer. And don't call me tonight.”

I drove to Priya's office, where the lights were still on. Before I reached the parking lot, my phone started vibrating. Someone had posted a six-second clip of me catching David's wrist. It began after he'd swung the belt and ended before I stepped away. Robert's caption called me a trained attacker.

Then an email arrived from ClearLedger, the organization where I analyzed charity-grant spending.

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**You are being placed on administrative leave pending review of the incident circulating online.**

Robert hadn't even waited until morning.