Chapter 4 - The Recording
Claire unlocked the bathroom only after Officer Ramirez confirmed that Grant and Diane were in separate rooms.
The door opened slowly.
Ramirez stood on the other side with a female officer named Patel. Neither rushed her. Neither reached for Noah.
Claire stepped into the hallway with trembling legs.
Grant stood near the living room, hands visible, jaw tight. Diane sat on the couch with perfect posture, already performing concern.
“She needs sleep,” Diane said. “She hasn’t been herself.”
Officer Patel looked at Claire’s face, then at the bruise on her shoulder.
“Ma’am, do you want medical attention?”
“Yes,” Claire said.
Grant closed his eyes as if she had disappointed him.
Ramirez pointed toward the baby monitor. “You said that device has a recording?”
Claire nodded.
Grant spoke quickly. “It records random audio. You can’t trust context.”
Ramirez turned toward him. “I wasn’t asking you.”
That sentence changed the room.
Claire sat at the kitchen table while Patel remained beside her. With shaking fingers, she opened the monitor menu and found the stored audio.
The timestamp began at 6:18 p.m.
Grant and Diane had been in the nursery. Claire had been downstairs washing bottles.
Diane’s voice: “You have to stop letting her make the decisions.”
Grant: “I know.”
Diane: “The attorney said documentation matters.”
Claire looked up.
Attorney.
Grant’s face went pale.
The recording continued.
Grant: “If she melts down tonight, I can call Dr. Keller tomorrow.”
Diane: “And once the doctor sees the video—”
Grant lunged toward the table.
Officer Ramirez stepped between them instantly.
“Back up.”
“I’m turning that off. That’s private.”
“Back up.”
Grant’s voice sharpened. “That is my property.”
Claire looked at him.
“No,” she said. “It was a gift from my sister.”
Grant stared at her with pure hatred for half a second before smoothing his expression.
It was the first time she saw the switch happen in front of witnesses.
The recording continued.
Diane: “Once she gives him up, she’ll listen.”
Grant: “She won’t have a choice.”
Officer Patel stopped writing.
Ramirez asked, “Who is Dr. Keller?”
Claire swallowed.
“Our family doctor.”
Diane suddenly stood.
“This is ridiculous. We were discussing temporary help.”
Patel said, “Sit down, please.”
Diane did not.
Instead, she looked directly at Claire.
And for the first time all night, the older woman dropped the worried-mother act.
“You have no idea what you’ve just done,” she said.
Claire believed her.
Because Grant’s phone, lying faceup on the counter, lit with an incoming message.
May you like
The sender’s name was visible from across the room.
MARCUS VALE - FAMILY LAW.
