Chapter 5 - The Cracked Phone
The phone had cracked two weeks earlier.
Michael claimed Emily dropped it.
Emily knew the truth.
She had been standing in the kitchen when a notification appeared on the screen. The message came from Ms. Ramirez.
You missed another meeting. Is everything okay?
Michael saw it.
“Why is your teacher asking questions about this family?”
“She asked why I missed newspaper club.”
“You told her something.”
“No.”
“Unlock the phone.”
Emily refused.
Michael took it from her hand.
During the struggle, the phone hit the floor.
The screen broke in three places.
Michael stared down at it.
“Look what you made me do.”
Emily remembered those words because they were so absurd.
She had not broken the phone.
She had not created the conflict.
Still, part of her wondered whether refusing him had caused everything.
That was how his control worked.
He made other people carry the responsibility for his choices.
That night, Emily retrieved the phone from his desk while he was outside.
The screen still worked.
She copied her newest files into the hidden folder and changed the password.
She also discovered something important.
Michael had tried to delete several recordings, but the files were backed up automatically.
For the first time, Emily felt she had an advantage he did not know about.
She began carrying the phone everywhere.
Even when the battery was low.
Even when Michael ordered her to leave it downstairs.
Three days before the hospital, Emily recorded their most important conversation.
She had come home early from school because of pain and nausea. Sarah was at work. Michael was in the garage.
Emily went upstairs and locked herself in the bathroom using a small sliding bolt that he had not removed.
Michael knocked.
“Open the door.”
“I’m sick.”
“You went to the nurse?”
“Yes.”
“What did you tell her?”
“That my stomach hurt.”
“What else?”
“Nothing.”
“Open the door.”
“No.”
The knocking stopped.
A minute later, Michael spoke in a calm voice.
“If you go to a hospital, they’ll ask questions.”
Emily began recording.
“Why would that matter?”
“Because you exaggerate.”
“I’m in pain.”
“You’re going to rest.”
“I need Mom.”
“Your mother is busy.”
“I’ll call her.”
“No.”
Emily heard him testing the bathroom handle.
“Dad, go away.”
“Open this door before you create a problem you can’t fix.”
“What problem?”
“You know what happens when you lie.”
“I’m not lying.”
“You’ll say I did something. You’ll make your mother panic. Then the police will come, and they’ll take you somewhere full of strangers.”
Emily sat against the door.
“I have recordings.”
Silence followed.
Then Michael’s voice changed.
“What did you say?”
“I recorded you.”
The handle shook.
“Give me the phone.”
“No.”
“Emily.”
“I made copies.”
He stopped trying the door.
For several seconds, she heard nothing.
Then he said, “You’re going to regret threatening me.”
“I’m not threatening you.”
“You think your mother will believe those recordings?”
Emily closed her eyes.
Michael continued.
“I’ll say you edited them. I’ll tell everyone you hurt yourself for attention. People know me. They trust me.”
Emily held the phone close to her mouth.
“Then why are you scared?”
A loud impact struck the door.
Emily screamed.
The recording captured everything.
Afterward, Michael left.
Emily remained inside the bathroom until Sarah came home.
She did not tell her mother what happened.
May you like
By then the pain had grown worse, and she was afraid Michael had been right about one thing.
If she exposed him, nothing in their lives would ever be the same again.
