Chapter 3 - The Phone Beneath the Seat
Detective Lena Ortiz had investigated enough family violence cases to know that the first confession was rarely the whole truth.
Marissa admitted that Edric had hurt the twins, but when asked how long it had been happening, she said, “Tonight was the first time.”
Faye and Chloe reacted without speaking.
Detective Ortiz saw it.
She asked Marissa to wait in a separate room with another officer. Then she sat beside the twins with hospital social worker Naomi Price.
“You are not in trouble,” Detective Ortiz said. “You do not have to protect anyone in this building.”
Chloe stared at her hands.
“He told us no one would believe us.”
“People who depend on secrecy say that.”
“He knows people,” Faye whispered. “Judges. Police officers. School board members.”
“Knowing someone does not put him above the law.”
Faye looked doubtful.
Detective Ortiz did not promise that everything would become easy. She promised that every piece of evidence would be taken seriously.
That was when Chloe remembered the phone.
“It’s in the car.”
“What phone?”
“An old one. Under the passenger seat. I recorded the drive here.”
Detective Ortiz obtained a warrant for the vehicle while another officer secured it in the hospital parking lot.
The phone was exactly where Chloe said it would be.
Its screen was cracked. The battery had only four percent remaining.
The recording lasted twenty-three minutes.
Edric’s voice filled the interview room.
“You will say Faye slipped.”
A pause followed.
Then Marissa’s voice said, “She needs help.”
“She’ll get help after everyone understands the story.”
Another pause.
“You both fell,” Edric continued. “You were arguing near the stairs. Faye slipped, Chloe grabbed her, and both of you fell. Repeat it.”
Chloe’s recorded voice was barely audible.
“We fell.”
“Again.”
“We fell.”
Then came the sentence that changed the entire investigation.
Edric said, “And if either of you tries what you tried last winter, remember what happened to your mother.”
Faye began trembling.
Detective Ortiz stopped the recording.
“What happened last winter?”
Neither twin answered.
Naomi gave them time.
Finally, Chloe spoke.
“Faye tried to tell our school counselor.”
“What happened?”
“Mom came to school and said Faye had been making things up because she was angry about rules.”
Faye wiped her eyes.
“When we got home, Edric showed us a broken lamp and told us Mom had fallen into it because of the trouble I caused.”
Detective Ortiz’s expression remained calm, but her voice changed.
“Did you see him hurt your mother?”
“No,” Faye said. “But she had a bandage on her forehead.”
“He said it would be worse next time,” Chloe added.
They had not remained silent because they believed Edric was right.
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They remained silent because they believed speaking would hurt their mother.
In the other room, Marissa sat alone, unaware that her daughters had sacrificed their safety to protect her.
