Chapter 4 - The Video)
Jonathan emailed Margaret a private copy of the filing.
She watched the video alone.
The footage lasted fifty-three seconds.
It showed Margaret standing in Sophie's nursery the previous night.
Emma was crying.
Vanessa was holding the baby.
Margaret could hear her own voice.
"Give her to me."
Vanessa responded.
"Stop trying to control everything."
Margaret stepped forward.
"She needs her mother."
The video jumped.
Margaret frowned.
She rewound it.
There.
A cut.
Less than a second.
Then another angle showed Margaret taking Emma from Vanessa.
Because the beginning of the action had been removed, it looked as if Margaret had snatched the baby violently.
Vanessa staggered backward.
Margaret remembered the moment.
Vanessa had stepped on a blanket.
In the edited video, it appeared Margaret had shoved her.
Then came the final clip.
Eric entered.
"Margaret, give us the baby."
Margaret turned toward him.
The video froze on her angry face.
Then ended.
The attached statement claimed she had refused to return Emma and had pushed Vanessa.
Margaret watched it three more times.
Each time she noticed another cut.
The footage was edited.
Someone wanted a legal record of Margaret appearing dangerous.
Laura's warning echoed in her head.
If I cried, he recorded me. If I got angry, he recorded me.
Margaret called Jonathan.
"The video is edited."
"I suspected that."
"Can you prove it?"
"Eventually."
"I don't want eventually."
"Margaret."
"They're building a case."
"I know."
"Against me."
"And possibly Sophie."
Margaret went still.
"What do you mean?"
Jonathan lowered his voice.
"The documents submitted this morning included a draft petition that wasn't fully completed."
"What kind of petition?"
"Temporary guardianship."
"For Emma?"
"Yes."
Margaret closed her eyes.
"Who is listed as guardian?"
"Eric."
"He's the father."
"Not that kind of guardianship."
Jonathan paused.
"It appears to request temporary control over both Sophie and the baby if Sophie is declared medically incapable."
Margaret sat down.
"On what basis?"
"Postpartum psychiatric concerns."
"She hasn't been diagnosed with anything."
"I know."
"Then how?"
"There are attached notes."
"From whom?"
"A physician."
"Which physician?"
"Dr. Samuel Kane."
Margaret had never heard the name.
Jonathan continued.
"The notes describe confusion, irrational fear, mood swings, memory problems, and dangerous behavior."
Margaret's anger sharpened.
"Sophie told me she can't remember signing papers."
"I saw that."
"They're making her confused."
"Margaret, we can't assume."
"I can."
"You need evidence."
"I'll get it."
"Do not confront Eric."
Too late.
Margaret was already reaching for her keys.
She drove to Sophie's house and parked directly in the driveway.
Vanessa opened the front door.
Margaret walked past her.
"You can't just come in."
"I just did."
Eric appeared from the kitchen.
"Get out."
Margaret held up her phone.
"You edited the nursery video."
Eric's eyes narrowed.
"What video?"
"Don't insult me."
Sophie appeared at the top of the stairs.
"Mom?"
Margaret looked up.
"Did you tell a doctor you were afraid you would hurt Emma?"
Sophie's face went blank.
"What?"
Eric moved between them.
"That's enough."
Margaret ignored him.
"Did you meet Dr. Samuel Kane?"
Sophie frowned.
"I don't know."
Eric stepped closer.
"Leave."
Margaret looked at Sophie.
"Did you?"
"I met somebody on a video call."
"When?"
"Last week."
"Was Eric there?"
"Yes."
"What did he ask you?"
Sophie pressed her fingers to her temple.
"I don't remember."
Margaret's heart broke.
Eric reached for her arm.
Margaret pulled away.
"Don't touch me."
Sophie came downstairs.
"Mom, stop."
Margaret turned.
"Sophie, your husband submitted papers claiming you're mentally unstable."
Sophie stared at Eric.
"What?"
Eric sighed.
"It's a precaution."
"Against what?"
"You've been struggling."
"I'm tired."
"You dropped Emma's bottle yesterday."
Sophie looked stunned.
"That's your evidence?"
"You forgot the stove."
"I didn't forget the stove."
"You've been crying."
"I had a baby three weeks ago."
Eric softened his voice.
"Exactly."
Margaret recognized the technique.
Make cruelty sound like concern.
Sophie looked between them.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"I didn't want to scare you."
"Then why did Mom know?"
Eric's jaw tightened.
Margaret stepped closer to Sophie.
"Come home with me."
Eric laughed.
"There it is."
Margaret ignored him.
"Bring Emma."
Sophie hesitated.
Eric moved beside his wife.
"Your mother is trying to break up our family."
Margaret looked at him.
"No. I'm trying to stop you from taking control of it."
For several seconds nobody spoke.
Then Emma began crying upstairs.
Sophie immediately turned toward the staircase.
Margaret caught her hand.
"Sophie."
Her daughter looked back.
"Come with me."
Sophie stared at her mother's face.
Margaret saw the conflict.
Fear of Eric.
Fear of being wrong.
Fear of admitting the life she had built might not be what she thought.
Finally Sophie whispered.
"I can't."
Margaret released her hand.
Eric smiled.
Margaret saw it.
Sophie did not.
Margaret walked toward the door.
As she passed the kitchen, she noticed something on the floor beside the refrigerator.
Scratch marks.
Fresh ones.
The refrigerator had recently been dragged away from the wall.
Margaret slowed.
Eric noticed.
"What are you looking at?"
She looked at him.
"Nothing."
May you like
That night, Margaret called Laura.
"I need to know everything about the key."
