Chapter 4 - The Cracks in the Facade
The boardroom descended into total disarray. Julian Foster stood up, gathering the dossiers into his briefcase.
"The Foundation’s legal counsel will review these submissions immediately," Foster announced, his eyes refusing to meet Sophie’s. "In the interim, Sophie Bennett’s keynote address at the Autumn Gala is canceled. Her position as Director of Community Outreach is suspended pending a formal audit of all prior published materials."
"Julian, no!" Mom pleaded, rushing around the table. "Think of our standing! Think of the donors! We’ve contributed to this endowment for over fifteen years!"
"Then you should have ensured your daughter’s credentials were legitimate, Eleanor," Foster said curtly, walking out the double doors followed by the three trustees.
The heavy mahogany doors clicked shut.
The silence that followed was suffocating. Sophie remained frozen in her chair, staring at the empty space where the chairman had sat, her hands trembling violently.
"Are you happy now?" Mom shrieked, whirling on me. Her face was flushed crimson, her tailored jacket askew. "Are you satisfied, Maya? You’ve destroyed your sister’s career! You’ve disgraced our family name in front of the most prominent philanthropic circle in London! All because you couldn't swallow your petty jealousy!"
"My jealousy?" I stood up, refusing to shrink back. "She stole twenty-seven essays. She took my memories of caring for Lily—memories of cold compresses, sleepless nights, and utter terror—and packaged them into a brochure to make herself look like an angel. And when I asked her to stop, she ripped the clothes off my back and told you to make me kneel!"
"Because you provoked her!" Mom yelled, her finger stabbing the air inches from my nose. "You always provoke her! Sophie is delicate! She has an artistic temperament! You have always been cold, calculating, and unforgiving!"
"That is enough, Eleanor."
The door behind us swung open. Dad stood in the threshold, his coat soaked with rain, his face pale and lined with exhaustion. He looked between Mom, Sophie’s cowering figure, and me.
Mom froze. "Robert? What are you doing here?"
"I called him," Daniel said simply, standing beside my chair. "I told him he needed to see what his wife and daughter were doing."
Dad walked slowly into the room. He didn't look at Mom. He walked straight toward Sophie, who looked up with watery, pleading eyes.
"Dad," Sophie sobbed, putting on the exact helpless expression she had used since childhood to evade punishment. "Maya set me up. She fabricated dates, she—"
"I checked my old tax archives two hours ago, Sophie," Dad said, his voice cracked with heartbreak. "I found the wire transfer for your sailing tuition in Mallorca. Ten thousand pounds. I signed it on July 2nd, 2014."
Sophie’s mouth snapped shut.
Dad turned to Mom, his gaze heavier than I had ever seen it in twenty-nine years. "For fifteen years, Eleanor, you told me Maya was the difficult one. You told me Maya needed to give up her room, her clothes, her college fund savings, because Sophie was 'fragile' and needed extra support. You made me believe our eldest daughter was unfeeling."
"Robert, I did what was necessary to protect this family!" Mom insisted, though her voice lacked its usual commanding authority. "Sophie was the face of the Bennett family! She had the charm, the connections—"
"She is a fraud," Dad whispered. "And you built the stage for her."
He reached into his pocket and placed a set of house keys on the mahogany table.
May you like
"I am moving into the mews house in Richmond," Dad said quietly. "Do not call me, Eleanor. Not until you have looked into a mirror and realized what you have turned our daughters into."
***
