Chapter 2 - The Livestream Evidence
I froze, staring at the heavy wooden door of the hotel suite as the knocking grew louder.
"Sarah, are you still there?" Marcus asked through the phone.
I whispered into the receiver that someone was at my door.
"Do not open it until you confirm it is the police, and let me do the talking on speakerphone," Marcus instructed.
I walked over to the peephole and saw two uniformed officers standing in the hallway.
I opened the door slowly, keeping the security chain attached.
"Ma'am, we received a frantic call from your husband stating you abducted your three-year-old child," the taller officer said sternly.
I unhooked the chain, swung the door open, and stepped aside so they could see Emma sleeping safely on the bed.
"My daughter is safe, officers, and she is currently resting after being locked outside in the freezing cold by her father," I said calmly.
I placed my phone on the entryway table and put Marcus on speaker.
Marcus introduced himself as my legal counsel and informed the officers that we were in the middle of a hostile domestic separation.
The police looked skeptical, clearly influenced by whatever tearful performance Daniel had given them on the phone.
"We still need to ask you to come down to the station, ma'am, as taking a child across city limits without paternal consent is a serious allegation," the officer said.
I did not panic.
Instead, I opened the social media app on my phone and navigated to my sister-in-law’s profile.
Ashley was so obsessed with showing off her luxury lifestyle that she had livestreamed the first ten minutes of their seafood dinner.
I handed my phone to the officers and pressed play.
The video clearly showed the lavish spread, Olivia laughing, and Daniel pouring wine.
But more importantly, the reflection in the glass balcony doors behind them clearly showed my tiny daughter huddled on the cold tiles.
The timestamp was undeniable, and Ashley’s own voice narrating the video provided the final nail in the coffin.
The officers watched the footage in absolute silence, their expressions shifting from suspicious to disgusted.
"I removed my child from a dangerously neglectful environment, which I believe is my right as her mother," I stated.
The taller officer handed my phone back and nodded respectfully.
"We will be updating the report to reflect this evidence, and I strongly suggest you file for full custody in the morning," he said before leaving.
I thanked them, locked the door, and collapsed onto the sofa with a sigh of relief.
But my relief was completely shattered when my laptop chimed with a high-priority banking alert.
The notification warned me that a massive withdrawal had just been initiated.
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I clicked the alert, my blood running cold as I read the screen.
Someone had bypassed the freeze and completely emptied Emma's five-hundred-thousand-dollar college trust fund.
