CHAPTER 1 – THE EVIDENCE THEY COULDN'T ERASE
CHAPTER 1 – THE EVIDENCE THEY COULDN'T ERASE
The officer refused to let anyone leave the house.
My mother kept insisting everything had been misunderstood.
Bethany crossed her arms and smirked.
"She's four."
"Children make up stories."
My daughter buried her face against my shoulder.
"I didn't lie, Daddy."
The detective replayed the security footage on a tablet.
Nobody in the room spoke.
The recording showed Bethany dragging my daughter down the hallway.
Then my mother locked the bathroom door.
My father stood outside...
Making sure no guest walked closer.
Every excuse disappeared.
But the detective suddenly paused the video.
"There are missing twelve minutes."
Someone had deleted part of the recording.
Everyone slowly turned toward my father.
He looked away.
The detective quietly said,
May you like
"Recover that footage."
And my parents' confidence began to crack.
