Chapter 3 - The Nursery Camera
“What is he doing?”
I pushed myself upright too fast.
Pain shot through my abdomen.
Dad caught my shoulder.
“Easy.”
On the tablet, Dominic stood inside Leo’s nursery holding the small camera we had installed above the bookshelf.
He stared directly into its lens.
Then he yanked the power cable free.
The screen went black.
My skin turned cold.
Rachel was already taking notes.
“Was that camera installed legally in your residence?”
“Yes.”
“Did Dominic know it was there?”
“He bought it.”
“Good.”
I stared at the blank screen.
“Why would he remove it?”
Nobody answered.
Then another camera activated.
Living room.
Dominic stormed into view carrying the nursery camera in one hand.
Victoria followed him.
“I told you she was planning something,” Victoria said.
My blood froze.
The microphones worked.
Dominic dropped the camera on the kitchen counter.
“She’s with her father.”
Victoria laughed.
“That man?”
Dominic poured himself a drink.
“He’s probably calling some former supervisor trying to scare me.”
Victoria leaned against the counter.
“You married down, Dominic. I told you that.”
I looked at Dad.
He did not react.
Not visibly.
On-screen, Dominic took a long drink.
“She was useful.”
My heart stopped.
Victoria smiled.
“For what?”
“The apartment. The introductions. Her savings.”
Rachel looked at me sharply.
I whispered, “Keep recording.”
Dominic rubbed his forehead.
“She’s not leaving with Leo.”
Victoria’s face hardened.
“Of course not.”
“She wants to play games, fine. I’ll tell the court she’s unstable.”
“You have records?”
“I can get records.”
Rachel went completely still.
Dad’s eyes narrowed.
Victoria asked, “What does that mean?”
Dominic lowered his voice.
“I already spoke to Dr. Mason.”
My breath caught.
Dr. Mason was the therapist Dominic had insisted I see during my final month of pregnancy after I developed insomnia.
I had gone twice.
Twice.
Dominic said he was worried about me.
I thought it was love.
On the screen, Victoria smiled.
“And?”
“He’ll say she was anxious.”
“She was pregnant. Everyone is anxious.”
“I only need doubt.”
Rachel swore under her breath.
Dad looked at me.
“Did you authorize your therapist to speak with him?”
“No.”
Rachel wrote something down.
“Do not contact the doctor. I’ll handle it.”
On-screen, Celeste walked into the kitchen.
“Why is everybody freaking out?”
“Because Audrey stole Dominic’s car.”
I almost shouted at the tablet.
“My car!”
Celeste opened the refrigerator.
“I thought it was hers.”
Victoria snapped, “Don’t start.”
Celeste looked confused.
“It is, though.”
For the first time in years, I almost liked my sister-in-law.
Dominic pointed toward the door.
“Stay out of this.”
Celeste shrugged.
“Fine. But she literally left the hospital today. Maybe give her a day before declaring war.”
Victoria’s face twisted.
“She humiliated this family.”
Celeste stared at her mother.
“She had a C-section.”
“So?”
Celeste slowly closed the refrigerator.
“So she can’t even lift a grocery bag.”
Silence.
Dominic slammed his glass down.
“She took Leo.”
Celeste laughed once.
“He’s five days old. Where exactly did you think he was going to stay?”
“Enough!”
The audio peaked.
Leo startled in the bassinet beside me.
I flinched.
Dad walked over and gently rocked him.
On the screen, Celeste shook her head.
“You left your wife outside a hospital and went to lunch.”
Victoria stepped toward her.
“We did not leave her. She had transportation.”
“The bus?”
Celeste stared at them.
“The city bus?”
Nobody answered.
Her expression changed.
“Oh my God.”
Then Dominic said something that made Rachel stop writing.
“I needed the vehicle.”
Celeste looked at him.
“For lunch?”
“No. After lunch.”
Victoria snapped, “Dominic.”
Too late.
Celeste heard it too.
“For what?”
Dominic glanced around the room.
“To meet someone.”
“Who?”
“None of your business.”
My phone buzzed.
A banking alert.
I opened it.
ATTEMPTED TRANSFER: $90,000.
My chest tightened.
The account was mine.
An investment account I had opened before marriage.
The transfer had been blocked because my bank required biometric approval for amounts above fifty thousand.
Rachel leaned toward the screen.
“Did you initiate that?”
“No.”
Another alert came.
PASSWORD RESET REQUESTED.
Then another.
MULTIPLE FAILED LOGIN ATTEMPTS.
Dad’s voice became quiet.
“He’s not just angry.”
Rachel nodded.
“He’s moving money.”
On the apartment camera, Dominic suddenly picked up his phone.
He was typing.
My phone rang seconds later.
I stared at his name.
Rachel said, “Answer this one.”
I looked at her.
“Why?”
“Because now we know what he’s doing.”
I tapped ACCEPT.
“Hello?”
Dominic’s voice came through sharp and controlled.
“Where are you?”
“With Leo.”
“Bring him home.”
“No.”
Silence.
He had never heard me say that word to him like that.
“What did you say?”
“I said no.”
“Audrey, you’re tired. You’re medicated. You’re not thinking clearly.”
I looked at Rachel.
Her eyes sharpened.
“I’m thinking clearly.”
“You abandoned the marital home with my child.”
“You left me outside a hospital.”
“That’s not what happened.”
“I have witnesses.”
His breathing changed.
“Who is feeding you this garbage?”
“No one.”
“Your father?”
“No.”
“You always turn into a child around him.”
I almost laughed.
“You’re trying to transfer ninety thousand dollars out of my account.”
Silence.
That silence told me everything.
Then he recovered.
“I was protecting our assets.”
“From me?”
“From whatever impulsive thing you’re doing.”
“Did you forge my signature for a credit line?”
This silence was longer.
Rachel stared at me.
Dad stopped rocking Leo.
Dominic finally spoke.
“Where did you hear that?”
I closed my eyes.
Wrong answer.
He should have said no.
He didn’t.
“I’ll call you later,” I said.
“Audrey, don’t you dare hang—”
I ended the call.
Rachel took a slow breath.
“Good.”
I felt sick.
“I was married to him.”
Dad sat beside me.
“Yes.”
“How did I not know?”
“You knew pieces.”
That hurt because it was true.
I had known the disrespect.
The money obsession.
The way he mocked my work.
The way his mother could enter our home without knocking.
The way Dominic always said my memory was wrong whenever I challenged him.
I knew the pieces.
I just refused to assemble them.
My phone chimed.
An email.
From Dominic.
SUBJECT: LEO.
Inside were three sentences.
Come home tonight.
If you don’t, my attorney files for emergency custody tomorrow morning.
You will regret making me do this.
I handed the phone to Rachel.
She read it.
Then looked at me.
“He’s moving faster than I expected.”
My throat tightened.
“What happens if he files?”
“We answer.”
“And if the judge believes him?”
Rachel closed the folder.
“Then tomorrow may become the most important day of your life.”
May you like
Outside the window, thunder rolled over Manhattan.
And somewhere across the city, my husband was already preparing to tell a judge I was too unstable to keep my five-day-old baby.
