PART 4 — The Footage Disappeared
The moment I saw Preston send that text, a knot tightened in my stomach.
He wasn't worried about the police.
He wasn't worried about the witnesses.
He was worried about one thing.
The CCTV.
If that footage survived, his lie would collapse.
Officer Brooks remained beside the ballroom doors.
"No one leaves until we've reviewed the surveillance."
Preston slipped his phone back into his pocket and forced another confident smile.
"Officer, I think you're overreacting."
"This is a misunderstanding between family members."
Brooks didn't even look up from his notebook.
"A grown man struck an eight-year-old child."
"I don't consider that a family misunderstanding."
Several guests quietly nodded.
Others looked away, ashamed they hadn't spoken sooner.
Angela Morris's radio crackled.
Her expression changed.
She frowned.
"Repeat that."
The dispatcher spoke again.
"The Ballroom Three recording isn't available."
Angela's eyebrows drew together.
"What do you mean it isn't available?"
"Server says the file was deleted six minutes ago."
The ballroom erupted.
"Deleted?"
"How is that possible?"
Officer Brooks stepped forward immediately.
"Who has access to your security system?"
Angela answered without hesitation.
"Only me."
"The security director."
"And the hotel general manager."
My heart dropped.
Six minutes ago.
Exactly when Preston had sent that text.
Officer Brooks slowly turned toward my brother.
"You wouldn't happen to know anything about that."
Preston spread his hands innocently.
"I've been standing here the entire time."
"I couldn't possibly delete hotel files."
"No."
Brooks agreed.
"But someone could."
Before anyone else spoke—
The ballroom doors opened.
A sharply dressed man hurried inside.
His name badge identified him as Martin Keller – General Manager.
He smiled politely.
"I'm terribly sorry about this unfortunate incident."
His eyes briefly met Preston's.
Only for a second.
But I saw it.
Recognition.
Angela walked straight toward him.
"Martin."
"The Ballroom Three footage has been erased."
His face showed perfect surprise.
"Really?"
"That's... very strange."
Officer Brooks folded his arms.
"When was the last time anyone accessed your surveillance server?"
Martin hesitated.
"I'm... not sure."
Angela stared at him.
"You received a remote login request seven minutes ago."
The manager swallowed.
"I'll have IT investigate."
"No."
A new voice interrupted.
Everyone turned.
A young man wearing a hotel IT badge stepped into the ballroom carrying a laptop.
His name tag read:
Noah Chen – Senior Systems Technician
He looked nervous.
"Sir..."
He glanced toward Martin.
"I need to correct something."
The manager's smile vanished.
Officer Brooks nodded.
"Go ahead."
Noah opened his laptop.
"Our surveillance system records every login attempt."
He turned the screen toward the officer.
"There was a remote access request."
"At 8:17 p.m."
"Using the general manager's administrator credentials."
The room fell silent.
Brooks asked calmly,
"Was the footage deleted?"
Noah shook his head.
"No."
Everyone frowned.
"No?"
He took a slow breath.
"The deletion failed."
Angela blinked.
"What?"
"The system automatically creates three backup copies."
"One on the local server."
"One in encrypted cloud storage."
"And one in an off-site archive."
Martin's face lost all color.
Noah continued.
"Someone deleted the local copy."
"But they couldn't touch the backups."
A wave of whispers swept through the ballroom.
Officer Brooks looked directly at Martin.
"Who instructed you to access the footage?"
Martin didn't answer.
Instead...
He looked at Preston.
That single glance said everything.
Preston stepped forward.
"This is ridiculous."
"My wedding is being turned into a criminal investigation."
Officer Brooks replied quietly,
"Because someone committed what appears to be a crime."
Noah typed quickly on the keyboard.
"It'll take about three minutes to retrieve the cloud backup."
Angela smiled for the first time.
"Excellent."
Martin suddenly spoke.
"The network has been unstable tonight."
"The backup may be corrupted."
Noah shook his head.
"I already checked."
"It isn't."
Across the ballroom, the guests had completely forgotten the wedding.
No one was eating.
No one was dancing.
Every eye remained fixed on the laptop.
Waiting.
Watching.
Even the bride slowly stepped away from Preston.
Just a single step.
But he noticed.
Then Sophie's small voice interrupted the silence.
From the stretcher, she whispered,
"Mommy..."
I hurried to her side.
"I'm here."
She looked weak.
But her eyes were focused.
"I remember something else."
"What is it, sweetheart?"
"When Uncle Preston put the phone in my pocket..."
She paused.
"He told me..."
I gently squeezed her hand.
"What did he say?"
Her tiny voice trembled.
"He said..."
"...'Sometimes little girls have to take the blame for grown-ups.'"
The entire ballroom froze.
At that exact moment—
Noah looked up from his laptop.
His fingers stopped typing.
He swallowed hard.
"I have it."
Everyone stared at him.
"The backup video..."
May you like
He slowly turned the screen toward Officer Brooks.
"...is ready."
