Chapter 1 - The Cloud Recording

I stared at the deputy as his finger pointed directly at the small camera clipped to the bassinet.

The cold wind whipped across the yard, but I felt completely numb to it.

My hands were shaking violently as I pulled my phone from my back pocket.

I opened the baby monitor application and quickly navigated to the cloud storage folder.

"Yes, it records both high-definition video and audio directly to my account," I told him.

The deputy held out his hand with a grim, serious expression.

I handed the phone over, my heart pounding loudly in my chest.

He tapped the screen to play the most recent motion-detected clip from the yard.

The tinny, mechanical sound of the riding mower's engine filled the quiet space between us.

Then, crystal clear over the loud engine noise, my stepmother's voice played from the small speaker.

"I sharpened the blades so it'll be quick."

The deputy's expression hardened instantly into a mask of pure professional fury.

He paused the video and looked directly at my stepmother on the ambulance stretcher.

She was suddenly completely silent, her face drained of all its previous arrogant color.

"Ma'am, you are formally under arrest for the attempted murder of an infant," the deputy announced loudly.

My father looked like he had been struck by a bolt of lightning.

He stared at his bleeding wife, finally realizing the monster he had brought into our home.

The paramedics loaded her into the back of the ambulance under strict police guard.

As they pushed her past me, she turned her head and locked her cold eyes with mine.

"You think this is over, but you have absolutely no idea what you just started," she hissed venomously.

The heavy ambulance doors slammed shut, leaving an eerie, suffocating silence in the yard.

The deputy turned to me and explained that he needed to take my phone as official criminal evidence.

I nodded slowly, just immensely relieved that my precious baby was finally safe.

I turned to walk back into the house so I could pack our things and leave forever.

My father suddenly stepped right in front of me, his eyes wide and completely desperate.

May you like

When my newborn 'passed away,' my mother-in-law leaned in and said

My Husband Left Me Alone in My Car While I Was in Labor

“You’re Dead When We Get Home,” He Snapped

Before I could react, he snatched the unlocked phone directly from the deputy's hand.

He turned and sprinted toward the dense woods behind our property, frantically tapping the screen to delete the video.