Page 219 of Even Exchange

Only one file is on the device. A video that’s password protected, but after a few tries—she’s so damn predictable—I’ve cracked it.

An uneasy feeling settles in my stomach.

Clicking the video, it opens wide on the computer screen, and I turn up the sound. There’s a full view of the study at my parents’ house.

Grandma sits in her chair, working as usual, a glass of wine to her right.

A door creaks open, and her attention turns towards it.

“Georgia?” Grandma says. “What are you doing here?”

“I need the money.”

“And I’m not giving it to you.”

“If I don’t secure a donation from the Benson name you always drone has so much weight, how is that going to look?” my mother asks.

“That’s not my problem.”

“Don’t you realize how good it will be for you when I’m in office?” Mom presses.

“The fact you think you can win president, let alone governor, is embarrassing.”

“I’m so sick of you underestimating me,” Mom says, tone sharp.

“I’m not. I don’t place bets on dead horses.”

“Transfer the fucking money.”

“No,” Grandma says.

“Don’t make me do this.” Mom’s tone is indecipherable as she reaches into her handbag.

I gasp.

She points a gun at my grandma. At her own mother.

“Make the transfer,” Mom shouts.

“What are you going to do?” Grandma laughs. “Shoot me?”

“If I have to.”

Mom rounds the desk, clicks around on the computer, and aims the gun at Grandma’s head.

“Make. The. Transfer.”

“Over. My. Dead. Body,” Grandma seethes, and Mom pulls the gun back, then whacks her in the head with it. She slumps to the floor, no longer visible due to the camera angle.

Mom returns to the computer, and a satisfied smile spreads across her face. After a few minutes, she looks to the floor, bends down, and curses.

“Shit.” She stands, setting the gun on the table, and drags her hands through her hair. “Fuck!” she shouts.

“What just happened?” Noah asks, voice at a whisper.

“I think we witnessed my grandmother’s murder,” I say as the footage keeps rolling. “But I don’t understand why my mother would keep this. It only incriminatesher.”

“Maybe she?—”

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