Chapter 4
At the hospital, Sophie was examined thoroughly. Thankfully, the injury wasn’t as severe as it had first appeared. She had a mild concussion and needed several stitches on her forehead, but there was no fracture.
Evelyn sat by her daughter’s bedside the entire time, holding her hand.
When the doctor finally left the room, Sophie looked up at her mother with tired eyes.
“Mommy… am I in trouble?”
Evelyn felt her heart break all over again.
“No, baby,” she said, brushing Sophie’s hair back gently. “You’re not in trouble. You didn’t do anything wrong.”
Sophie’s lower lip trembled.
“But Uncle Preston said I stole his phone. Everyone was looking at me like I was bad.”
Evelyn took a deep breath and spoke as calmly as she could.
“Uncle Preston lied. He put the phone in your pocket on purpose. And when you told the truth, he hurt you. That was very wrong of him.”
Sophie was quiet for a long moment.
Then she whispered, “I was scared. I thought maybe I really did something bad and just forgot.”
Evelyn leaned forward and cupped her daughter’s face gently.
“Listen to me, Sophie. You are a good girl. You always have been. What happened tonight was not your fault. Uncle Preston made a very bad choice, and now he has to face the consequences.”
Sophie’s eyes filled with tears again.
“But what if they don’t believe me?”
Evelyn smiled softly, even though her own eyes were stinging.
“They already saw the video, sweetheart. Everyone saw what he did. No one can lie about it anymore.”
Sophie seemed to relax a little at that.
She closed her eyes and leaned back against the pillow.
“I’m tired, Mommy…”
“I know, baby. You can sleep now. I’ll be right here.”
Sophie’s small hand tightened around Evelyn’s fingers.
“Don’t leave me,” she whispered.
Evelyn’s voice cracked slightly as she answered.
“I’m never leaving you. I promise.”
As Sophie drifted off to sleep, Evelyn sat there in the quiet hospital room, staring at her daughter’s bandaged forehead.
Anger burned in her chest — not the hot, impulsive kind, but something cold and steady.
Preston had crossed a line tonight that could never be uncrossed.
And Evelyn was done protecting him.
She was done staying silent for the sake of “family.”
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From this moment forward, she would do whatever it took to protect her daughter.
Even if it meant burning every bridge that connected them to the Whitmore family.
