Chapter 13 - Before Lily Was BornThe earliest file was dated three weeks before Emma's due date. Emma was folding newborn clothes in the nursery when Ruth appeared and criticized the crib sheets, the paint color, and the brand of bottles.

“We can do this my way,” Ruth said in the recording, “or I can make sure Daniel sees how you really behave.”

Emma's recorded reply was quiet: “Please leave. I need to rest.”

Ruth leaned toward the hidden camera, then moved it to a better angle.

Daniel watched the footage once. He couldn't bear a second viewing. “She planned this while I was painting the room.”

“While you were telling me she meant well,” Emma said.

He didn't defend himself. That mattered more than an apology would have.

The police evidence specialist advised them on submitting the device and files properly, including the need to preserve the originals and document who had handled them. Daniel wrote down every step. For once, his desire to help wasn't making him reckless.

Meanwhile Lucy found a letter from Michael among her old papers. In it, Michael described Ruth's habit of making emergencies when she sensed someone pulling away. She once told Lucy her father had collapsed to force her to cancel a college interview. The emergency had been invented.

“She gets power when everyone is scared,” Lucy said. “Then she calls it love.”

That evening, Daniel found Emma standing in the doorway of the nursery. The baby was asleep, but Emma couldn't bring herself to step inside.

“Every time I see the wardrobe, I remember her hands,” she said. “I know she's gone. My body doesn't.”

Daniel asked whether she wanted to sleep in the guest room. Emma said yes. He moved the bassinet, gave her space, and booked an appointment with a trauma-informed counselor after she asked him to help find one.

Just before midnight his phone lit up with a warning from their bank: a transfer from Lily's education account had been requested and flagged for verification.

Daniel called the fraud hotline. The attempted transfer was pending review.

The destination name on the alert was NORTHSIDE STORAGE HOLDINGS.

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And the person who authorized the request had signed as Lily's legal guardian.