Chapter 12: Preston’s Desperation
Chapter 12: Preston’s Desperation
While my parents were being picked apart in depositions, Preston was rotting in the Cook County Jail. Without his father's money to secure a high-priced cell block or protective custody, the golden boy was experiencing reality for the first time.
I received a collect call from the jail. Against Clara’s advice, I accepted it.
"Evelyn? Evelyn, please don't hang up!" Preston’s voice was unrecognizable. It was high, breathless, and filled with terror. "You have to tell the prosecutor to drop the aggravated battery charge to a lower offense. Please! The guys in here... they know what I’m in for. They know I hit a kid. It’s a nightmare in here, Evie. I can't survive this!"
"You should have thought about that before you swung that board, Preston," I said, my voice cold.
"It was Dad! Dad told me to do it!" Preston cried, trying to shift the blame. "He told me to frame Sophie! He said if we caused a big enough scene of theft, we could claim the missing financial files on my phone were wiped by a 'disgruntled family member' if the feds ever came looking! He engineered the whole thing! I just panicked!"
I felt a chill go down my spine. Richard hadn't just protected Preston; he had used his own son and granddaughter as pawns in his financial cover-up scheme.
"Tell it to the feds, Preston," I said.
"If I give them Dad, will you help me get probation?" he begged. "I’ll give them everything! Every account, every offshore routing number! Just don't let me stay in here!"
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"You spent thirty years taking everything from me, Preston," I said softly. "My college fund, my parents' love, my peace. And then you tried to take my daughter’s safety. You’re exactly where you belong."
I hung up the phone. The golden boy was ready to eat his own father alive to save himself. The house of cards wasn't just falling—it was imploding.
