My mother said urgently, “Blake could lose his reputation if this goes public, you should reconsider before the situation gets worse.”
I stared at her across the small kitchen table and replied, “The situation already got worse the moment he punched a child in the face over candy.”
My father rubbed his forehead and muttered, “Your brother is under a lot of stress with his construction company, maybe we can handle this privately.”
Sadie walked into the room quietly and said with surprising calm, “Grandma, Uncle Blake h.i.t me because I took chocolate.”
My mother’s face went pale while Sadie continued softly, “I do not think stress makes that okay.”
Days turned into weeks as the legal process moved forward, and Blake responded exactly the way I expected by insisting that everything had been exaggerated by a jealous sister who wanted to destroy his success. His company Thornton Structural Group continued posting glossy photos online while local gossip quietly circulated about an investigation involving a child.