Chapter 9 - THE MOTHER’S BETRAYAL
Detective Reyes plugged Cassidy’s gold iPhone into an external speaker on the dining table. The screen flickered to life, showing an audio file recorded at 6:45 PM on the evening of the attack—barely fifteen minutes before Cassidy threw the caustic drink in my face.
Cassidy’s panicked voice crackled through the speaker:
*"Mom, I can't do this! The smell is terrible... it ate right through the plastic stirrer! What if it blinds her? What if the police trace the chemicals back to me?"*
Then came Lydia’s voice, sharp, cold, and calculated:
*"Shut up, Cassidy! You think your influencer brand is going to pay off your debts? If you don't throw that glass tonight, Sterling cuts us off tomorrow. We lose the house, your car gets repossessed, and you end up in a two-bedroom apartment working retail! You do it, and you do it cleanly. Cry afterward, pretend it was an accident, and let me handle the lawyers."*
Cassidy was sobbing:
*"I don't want to hurt her! Meredith gave me ten thousand dollars last Christmas when I couldn't pay rent!"*
Lydia’s response made my stomach churn:
*"Meredith gave you scraps because she likes watching you beg! She’s her mother’s daughter—a self-righteous snob. You throw the glass right at her face, Cassidy. When she's screaming on the floor, we call 911 and say she attacked you first. Now fix your makeup and get downstairs."*
The recording clicked off.
I sat motionless, staring at the small speaker. Naomi wiped away a stray tear of shock, while Julian’s jaw was clenched tight enough to crack teeth.
"Lydia wasn't just an accomplice," I whispered, the final remnants of familial grief burning away into hardened resolve. "She forced Cassidy’s hand. She orchestrated every single second of it."
"Cassidy is still guilty of felony assault," Detective Reyes pointed out gently. "She went through with it. She poured the acid into that cocktail glass and hurled it at you."
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"I know," I said, looking up at Reyes. "Cassidy made her choice. But she was a puppet. Lydia was the monster who pulled the strings."
***