Chapter 1 - The Impossible Evidence
The nurse looked down at the hospital intake form in her trembling hands.
Her face turned completely pale under the harsh fluorescent lights.
She whispered a single sentence that made the entire room freeze.
"The person who dropped her off listed you as the primary suspect, Mister Harper."
I felt the air violently leave my lungs.
The first police officer tightened his grip on my arm and shoved me toward the hallway.
Lily screamed for me, her tiny voice echoing off the sterile walls.
I fought to keep my eyes on my daughter until the heavy wooden door swung shut between us.
They dragged me through the lobby while a dozen strangers watched with judging eyes.
As they pushed me into the back of the freezing patrol car, I saw Kate standing near the exit.
She was no longer smiling.
She was looking down at her phone with an expression of pure, unadulterated panic.
The heavy door of the cruiser slammed shut, locking me inside the metal cage.
Suddenly, my own cell phone buzzed violently in my pocket.
The officer had forgotten to confiscate it in his rush to get me outside.
I struggled against the tight steel handcuffs to reach into my pocket.
I managed to pull the phone out and tap the screen with my thumb.
It was a security alert from the hidden camera I had installed on my front porch yesterday.
The video buffered for a second before playing a crystal clear image of my ex wife's house.
The footage showed Kate standing in the dark driveway, talking to a man dressed in a paramedic uniform.
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Kate reached into her coat and handed the man a massive stack of cash.
Then she handed him a clear plastic bag containing the exact same soup bowl that had burned my daughter.
