Chapter 4 - The Sabotage
The drive back to our neighborhood felt like moving through thick, suffocating mud.
Marcus and I sat in the parking lot across from the hospital, completely paralyzed by the nightmare.
We were legally banned from seeing our own dying child.
My phone rang loudly, breaking the heavy silence inside the cold car.
It was Josh calling on a FaceTime video connection.
I answered immediately, hoping for any small piece of good news.
"Becca, you need to see this right now," Josh said, his voice entirely breathless.
He flipped the camera around to show the broken wooden railing lying in our muddy backyard.
The wood had not simply snapped under the weight of a four-year-old girl.
A perfectly straight, deep cut had been made directly through the thickest part of the support beam.
"Someone took a hacksaw to this railing," Josh explained, pointing his flashlight at the exposed wood fibers.
"They cut it exactly deep enough so it would hold together until someone leaned against it."
Marcus let out a horrifying gasp as he stared at the screen.
"I checked that railing last week and it was perfectly solid," Marcus said, tears streaming down his face.
"Someone came into our backyard and set a lethal trap for our baby."
I thought about my sister Charlotte, who lived only three streets away from our house.
Charlotte always had access to our side gate because she used our backyard for her dog.
"Josh, look around the grass near the treehouse," I instructed him through the phone.
"See if they dropped anything when they were sawing the wood."
The camera lens shook wildly as Josh scanned the muddy ground with his bright flashlight.
Suddenly, the beam of light stopped on a small, shiny object half-buried in the dirt.
Josh reached down and pulled a silver keychain from the mud.
It was a heavy metal charm shaped like a mythical unicorn.
"Charlotte," I whispered, feeling completely sick to my stomach.
"She bought those exact unicorn keychains as favors for Madison’s birthday party."
My sister had sneaked into my yard and sabotaged the treehouse to help my parents collect the insurance money.
"I am taking this straight to the police station," Josh promised, rushing back toward his truck.
"This is the physical proof we need to clear your names and get you back into that hospital."
Before Josh could end the video call, the screen suddenly went completely dark.
I heard the sickening sound of breaking glass, followed by a heavy thud.
"Josh!" Marcus yelled into the phone.
There was no answer, only the sound of heavy footsteps crunching across the grass.
A familiar voice finally spoke into the microphone of Josh's dropped phone.
May you like
"I told you children bounce back, Becca," my father chuckled darkly.
"But unfortunately, your nosy brother-in-law will not."
