Chapter 2 - Her Version of the Truth
The ambulance arrived in seven minutes.
To Emily, it felt like an hour.
Two paramedics worked on Daniel while Lily sat on Emily's lap, hiccupping between exhausted cries. Vanessa stood near the front door with both hands clasped under her chin, performing shock so perfectly that even Emily almost doubted what she had seen.
Almost.
A police officer stepped into the foyer.
"I need to know what happened."
Emily opened her mouth.
Vanessa spoke first.
"My sister-in-law became upset."
Emily snapped her head toward her.
"That's a lie."
The officer held up a hand. "One at a time."
Vanessa's eyes filled with tears.
"We were arguing. Emily picked up the vase. I thought she was going to throw it at me. Daniel came through the door and..."
She covered her mouth.
Emily could hardly believe the performance.
"She kicked my daughter down the stairs!"
The room went silent.
The officer looked at Lily, then back at Emily.
Vanessa shook her head slowly. "Lily stumbled. Emily panicked. She started screaming at me."
"I saw your foot hit her."
"No, you didn't."
The paramedics lifted Daniel onto the stretcher.
Emily followed immediately.
"Ma'am," the officer said, "I still need a statement."
"At the hospital. My husband is unconscious."
Vanessa took one step closer.
"I'll go with Daniel."
Emily turned on her so sharply that Vanessa stopped.
"You will not come near my husband or my child."
For the first time, Vanessa's expression cracked.
A flicker of anger appeared.
Then it vanished.
At the hospital, a pediatric nurse examined Lily. There were no broken bones, but a bruise was beginning to darken near her hip.
"She needs observation tonight," the doctor said. "And because you reported that an adult caused the fall, we have to document everything."
Emily nodded.
Across the hall, Daniel was taken for a CT scan.
A detective named Aaron Ruiz arrived forty minutes later.
"Mrs. Carter, there are two very different stories here."
"Only one of them is true."
"Do you have cameras in the house?"
Emily suddenly remembered the baby monitor system Daniel had installed months earlier.
One camera faced the lower staircase.
Her heart jumped.
"Yes."
Detective Ruiz leaned forward.
"Can anyone else access the recordings?"
Emily thought about the family tablet in the kitchen.
About the password written inside the cabinet.
About Vanessa having been alone in the house for almost an hour before the ambulance arrived.
Emily looked at him.
May you like
"Yes," she whispered.
And she already knew exactly who.
