Chapter 2 - The Knock at the Door
Rowan frantically refreshed his email inbox, praying the deletion was just a simple network error.
The red warning message remained on the screen, mocking his desperate attempts to retrieve the file.
He realized with a sickening jolt that Selene still possessed the master passwords to his cloud account.
He had set up her digital security years ago and foolishly used the same passwords for his own backups.
Selene had deliberately wiped the original video before posting her heavily manipulated masterpiece.
Rowan slammed his fist against the desk, shattering a glass picture frame in his blind rage.
Ivy ran down the stairs, her face pale and her eyes wide with absolute terror.
She held her phone out, showing Rowan the thousands of death threats flooding her social media pages.
Strangers from all over the world were sending horrific messages, promising to exact revenge for the little girl.
Ivy collapsed into Rowan’s arms, sobbing uncontrollably as the digital nightmare swallowed their lives.
Rowan held her tightly, promising that he would fix this and protect their family at all costs.
He explained that Selene had deleted the original video from his account to frame her perfectly.
Ivy looked up at him, her beautiful face twisted into a mask of pure disbelief and horror.
She asked how a woman could possibly be so evil to her own flesh and blood.
Rowan had no answers, only a burning desire to see his sister locked in a prison cell.
He immediately called his lawyer, leaving a frantic voicemail demanding an emergency injunction against Selene.
He then walked upstairs to check on Elara, who was finally sleeping peacefully in her bed.
He gently kissed her forehead, vowing that nobody would ever hurt her again.
The heavy silence of the house was suddenly shattered by a loud, aggressive pounding on the front door.
Rowan walked cautiously down the hallway, peering through the peephole into the dark night.
Two uniformed police officers were standing on his porch, looking incredibly tense and serious.
Standing behind them was a woman holding a thick clipboard and wearing a lanyard from Child Protective Services.
Rowan opened the door, demanding to know why they were harassing his family in the middle of the night.
The social worker stepped forward, her expression cold and completely devoid of any empathy.
She stated that they had received thousands of anonymous reports regarding the viral video of child abuse.
She demanded to see Elara immediately to assess her physical and emotional well-being.
Rowan tried to explain that the video was a malicious fake created by his jealous sister.
The police officers placed their hands on their weapons, warning Rowan to step aside and cooperate.
Ivy came down the stairs, begging the officers to listen to the truth before tearing their family apart.
The social worker ignored her pleas and marched directly up the stairs toward Elara’s bedroom.
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Rowan tried to block her path, but one of the officers aggressively shoved him against the wall.
The officer pulled out a pair of steel handcuffs, warning Rowan that he was inches away from being arrested.
