Chapter 2 - The Perfect Frame

I stared at the prescription bottle in absolute horror. I had never seen those pills in my entire life. "That is not mine," I desperately told the CPS worker. Brenda Vance simply wrote something down on her clipboard without breaking eye contact. "The label clearly has your name on it, Emily," she noted without a single hint of sympathy. Daniel looked at the bottle and then slowly looked at me with deep doubt in his eyes. "Emily, have you been taking things without telling me?" he asked quietly. My heart shattered into a million pieces right there in the hospital hallway. "Daniel, you know I haven't slept more than two hours a night in months," I cried out. "But I would never, ever do anything to hurt our beautiful boy." Marianne suddenly appeared from the elevator banks, dabbing her eyes with a lace handkerchief. "Oh, my poor, sweet grandson," she wailed dramatically for the audience of officers. She walked straight to Daniel and wrapped him in a tight, comforting hug. "I tried to tell you she wasn't well, Daniel," Marianne whispered loudly enough for the police to hear. "She has been acting so erratically lately, forgetting things, and leaving the house an absolute mess." I wanted to scream at her for weaving such a venomous, calculated web of lies. CPS formally informed us that Noah would be released to a safe relative upon his medical discharge. Marianne immediately volunteered to take full temporary custody of my baby. Daniel numbly agreed to the arrangement before I could even formulate a legal protest. I was forced to leave the hospital entirely alone while my husband and his mother stayed behind. I drove back to our empty house, my hands gripping the steering wheel so hard my knuckles turned white. I needed undeniable proof that Marianne had planted those pills in my bag to frame me. I walked into the nursery and began tearing the room apart looking for any possible clues. I moved the heavy bookshelf away from the wall and noticed a strange red blinking light behind a teddy bear. I reached out and pulled a tiny, hidden wireless security camera from the shadows.