Chapter 5 - Mason’s Fake Tears Are Finally Exposed
Just as Officer Ruiz began reading Arthur his Miranda rights, the treatment room door swung open once more to reveal my brother-in-law Thomas and his wife Linda. Behind them stood twelve-year-old Mason, clutching his cell phone and wearing a masterclass expression of innocent confusion.
“Dad? Mom?” Mason whined loudly, rushing past the police officer toward his grandfather. “Why are there cops here? Grandpa didn't do anything wrong, Lila’s kid is just a liar!”
I stepped smoothly into Mason’s path, blocking him from reaching Arthur before he could spin another one of his toxic childhood lies. Mason stopped short, glaring up at me with the exact same manipulative sneer his father wore during family holiday dinners.
“Lila, move out of the way,” Thomas demanded aggressively, stepping up beside his son with a reddened face. “What is the meaning of dragging my elderly parents into a police interrogation room like common criminals?”
“Your son hid his own birthday watch inside Noah’s backpack to frame him,” I stated calmly, looking directly into Thomas’s shifting eyes. “And your father threw my son into a blizzard because of it.”
Mason’s face flickered with a micro-expression of absolute panic before he quickly forced out a loud, theatrical sob. “I didn't hide anything! Noah stole it because he’s jealous of my new watch! Everyone knows he’s a compulsive liar!”
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“Shut up, Mason,” I said softly, the quiet deadliness in my tone freezing the boy in his tracks. I pulled my tablet from my pocket and tapped the screen to play the security footage retrieved from the neighbor’s smart doorbell across the street from my in-laws' house.
The small screen illuminated the dim room, clearly playing audio and video of Mason unzipping Noah’s backpack on the mudroom bench. We all watched as Mason deliberately dropped his shiny gold watch into the front pocket, giggling to himself before running back into the living room.
