Chapter 1 - The Security Footage
The screen of my phone felt like a block of solid ice in my trembling hands.
I watched the fifteen-second video replay in an endless, sickening loop.
My wife, the woman I had loved and trusted for five years, was a complete stranger to me.
The sound of my innocent daughter hitting the carpeted floor echoed through the tiny speaker.
Vanessa’s cruel voice declaring that Lily had ruined her life burned into my brain like acid.
I slowly lowered the phone and looked up at the woman standing across the living room.
Vanessa’s confident, arrogant posture had completely vanished into thin air.
Her face was drained of all color, and her eyes darted nervously toward the front door.
She knew she was caught, and there was absolutely no way to lie her way out of this nightmare.
Maria, still kneeling on the floor, tightened her protective grip around my crying baby.
I took a slow step toward Vanessa, feeling a cold rage building deep inside my chest.
"How could you do that to a seven-month-old baby?" I asked, my voice dangerously low.
Vanessa took a step backward, her hands raised defensively in front of her chest.
"Ethan, you have to understand, I was just so exhausted and frustrated," she stammered.
I shook my head, disgusted by her pathetic attempt to justify child abuse.
"You didn't just drop her, Vanessa, you threw her like she was a piece of garbage."
I reached into my pocket and pulled out my phone again to dial 911.
As soon as Vanessa saw the emergency numbers on the screen, her panic turned into violent desperation.
She lunged forward, grabbing a heavy brass lamp from the end table.
"Put the phone down, Ethan, or I swear I will make this worse!" she screamed.
I stepped in front of Maria and Lily, shielding them from my unstable wife.
Realizing she could not get past me, Vanessa turned and sprinted up the main staircase.
She ran down the hallway and slammed the heavy oak door of my home office, locking it from the inside.
I rushed up the stairs, pounding my fists against the thick wood.
"Open this door right now, Vanessa!" I yelled.
There was no answer, but a strange smell began to seep out from the crack under the door.
May you like
A thin wisp of dark gray smoke started curling into the hallway.
She was burning something inside the room.
