Chapter 16 - The family turns on Natalie
Natalie became unpopular.
Not because she lied.
Because she did not.
Several relatives stopped inviting her to dinners.
One aunt told her:
“You could have given the video to the family first.”
Why?
So we could decide what version survived?
Natalie called me crying.
“I don’t regret giving it to police.”
“Good.”
“But I hate this.”
“I know.”
“I miss Aunt Victoria.”
That hurt.
My mother had been good to Natalie after her own mother died.
Human beings resist simple moral sorting.
“You can miss her.”
“Will she hate me forever?”
“I don’t know.”
Then Natalie said:
“I almost deleted it.”
“What?”
“The video. That night.”
My stomach dropped.
“Why?”
“Your dad called.”
“What did he say?”
“He asked me not to circulate anything until everyone calmed down.”
“That’s not the same as delete.”
“I know. But I knew what he wanted.”
Fear?
No.
Loyalty.
Different pressure.
“I saved it because Gigi was crying in the audio.”
There.
A child’s voice stopped the family editing process.
Not a hidden USB.
May you like
Not a detective trick.
One cousin deciding evidence belonged to what happened rather than to who was oldest.
