He Gave Her My Home So I Took Back My Life Chapter 06
Less than half an hour after the full footage went public, Graham called.
“Happy now?”
He sounded furious, as if he were the one who had been exposed.
“Vivian’s on the verge of a breakdown because of what people are saying online. She was just taken to the hospital. Her husband is dead, she’s raising a child alone, and now you want to drive her into the ground, too?”
A cold laugh escaped me. “You were the one who gave the edited footage to the media. You were the one who submitted false evidence and launched a smear campaign.”
There was a beat of silence on the other end.
“Stop pretending. That kind of media reversal doesn’t happen that fast unless someone’s pulling the strings. Who else could it be?”
Then his tone turned to ice.
“The police have officially accepted my domestic violence complaint. Tomorrow at ten a.m., you will come to the hospital, apologize to Vivian in public, and hold a press conference admitting the video caused a misunderstanding and that the accusations online are false.”
My hand tightened around the phone.
“Why would I do that?”
Graham gave a short, bitter laugh.
“Because she has injuries on her arm. Because there were witnesses who saw you arguing. Because the police already accepted the complaint.”
“The full footage proves she injured herself.”
“Public opinion isn’t a courtroom,” he snapped. “I have witnesses. I have lawyers. If I push this, you’ll be formally charged. And when that happens, no one will care about a few seconds of video. They’ll only remember that you’re an abuser.”
The small victory I’d felt turned to ice in my veins.
Then, unbelievably, his voice softened, adopting the same gentle tone he used every time he’d forced me from my home.
“Nora, this is the last time.”
“If you apologize, I’ll withdraw the report. At the press conference, I’ll publicly acknowledge that you’re my wife.”
He paused, then delivered the final threat, one word at a time.
“Otherwise, what arrives at your hotel tomorrow won’t be an apology statement. It’ll be a criminal complaint.”