Chapter 2 - Emma Recorded More Than Cruelty
Daniel kept Lily pressed against his chest while the police officer
stepped farther into the foyer.
Vanessa pointed at Emma.
“She’s lying. She hates me.”
Emma’s hands trembled, but she did not lower the phone.
Officer Ryan Cole asked one simple question.
“Ma’am, what exactly did you record?”
Emma unlocked the screen.
“Almost forty minutes.”
Vanessa moved toward her.
Daniel stood immediately.
“Don’t.”
One word stopped her.
Emma played the first clip.
Vanessa stood beside Lily’s high chair, removing a plate of sliced fruit
and toast.
The toddler reached for it.
Vanessa pulled it away.
“You want to act like an animal, you can eat like one.”
She emptied food into the dog bowl and placed it on the marble floor.
Daniel’s jaw tightened.
Then the recording continued.
Vanessa photographed Lily crying.
Not once.
Repeatedly.
She repositioned the bowl.
Moved Lily closer.
Took another picture.
Then she sent the photographs to someone.
Emma had zoomed in enough to capture the contact name.
MARCUS.
Daniel frowned.
“Who’s Marcus?”
Vanessa said nothing.
Emma looked at him.
“There’s more.”
The next recording had been made from behind the pantry door.
Vanessa was speaking on the phone.
“She’s crying now. I got the pictures.”
A man answered through speakerphone.
“Good. Make sure the maid sees enough to become emotional.”
Daniel looked at Emma.
The male voice continued.
“If Emma calls Daniel, we lose control of the timing. She needs to call
the police first.”
Officer Cole paused the video.
Everyone stared at Emma.
She swallowed.
“That’s why I called you before Mr. Kane.”
Daniel’s confusion deepened.
Someone had expected Emma to witness Lily’s treatment.
Someone had wanted police involved.
Vanessa whispered, “Emma, you don’t understand what you heard.”
Emma’s eyes filled.
“No. But I understood the next part.”
She played another clip.
The male voice said:
“Once the police enter the house, the second phone goes into Daniel’s
office.”
Daniel stopped breathing.
“What second phone?”
Vanessa went pale.
Officer Cole looked toward the hallway.
“Sir, nobody goes into that office until we secure it.”
Then a faint electronic chime sounded from upstairs.
Vanessa’s expression changed.
May you like
Emma whispered:
“Someone else is still in the house.”
