Chapter 3 - The First Child Arthur Hurt
I watched the video six times.
Each time, the truth became harder to deny.
Arthur had not lost his temper.
He had struck Gigi deliberately.
My father had expected it.
My mother had been waiting to accuse me of ruining the celebration.
They had wanted me angry.
They had wanted witnesses.
They had wanted a room full of relatives to describe me as emotional and unstable.
“What were they trying to prove?”
Daniel shook his head.
“I don’t know.”
Dana looked at the screen.
“They may have been preparing for a custody petition.”
My stomach twisted.
“They provoked me by hurting my daughter?”
“Some people create a crisis so they can control the story afterward.”
I looked down at Gigi.
She had stopped crying.
But every time a man walked past us, she buried her face against my shoulder.
Officer Ramirez took Daniel’s statement.
Then he asked Daniel to send the original video directly to the police evidence portal.
Daniel hesitated.
“My uncle told everyone he would destroy anyone who helped Clara.”
“Did he threaten you personally?”
“He said my father’s business loan would disappear.”
Officer Ramirez’s expression hardened.
“Send the video.”
Daniel did.
My phone rang while he was finishing.
Melissa’s name appeared on the screen.
Arthur’s wife had not called me in almost eight months.
I answered immediately.
“Melissa?”
Her breathing was fast.
“Is Gigi okay?”
“She has a bruise.”
A sob escaped her.
“I’m so sorry.”
“Were you at the party?”
“No.”
Her voice became quieter.
“Arthur told me I wasn’t allowed to come.”
“Why?”
“He said Sophie’s birthday would be easier without me causing problems.”
Sophie was their six-year-old daughter.
The party we had just fled had been her birthday celebration.
“Where is Sophie now?”
“With Arthur.”
My heart stopped.
“Arthur left the hospital ten minutes ago.”
“I know.”
“How?”
“He called me.”
Melissa began crying harder.
“He said he was going home to teach Sophie what happens when children embarrass him.”
I looked at Dana.
She understood immediately.
I put the call on speaker.
“Melissa, has Arthur hit Sophie before?”
There was a long silence.
Then Melissa whispered.
“Yes.”
Daniel closed his eyes.
Officer Ramirez reached for his radio.
“How often?”
“I don’t know.”
“You do know.”
Melissa’s voice broke.
“The first time she was three.”
I felt sick.
“He slapped her because she spilled milk on his laptop.”
Dana took the phone from my shaking hand.
“Melissa, my name is Dana Reynolds.”
“I’m a child protective services investigator.”
“Where are you right now?”
“At my sister’s apartment.”
“Is it safe for us to come to you?”
“Yes.”
“Do you have evidence of previous incidents involving Sophie?”
Another pause.
“I sent photographs to Clara last year.”
I opened the folder.
There they were.
Three photographs of bruises on Sophie’s upper arm.
Melissa had claimed they came from a playground fall.
But one message beneath the photographs said something different.
He grabbed her again.
I had responded within seconds.
Call the police.
Melissa had replied.
His parents said they’ll take Sophie away if I embarrass him.
Dana read the exchange.
“This is enough to request an emergency welfare check.”
Officer Ramirez called Brookline police units near my parents’ house.
Melissa’s voice shook through the speaker.
“Arthur knows I sent those pictures.”
“How?”
“He found my old phone.”
“When?”
“Tonight.”
A horrible possibility entered my mind.
“Melissa, why did he slap Gigi?”
“I don’t know.”
“Think.”
She went silent.
Then she inhaled sharply.
“Your father filed something with the court last week.”
“What did he file?”
“I only saw the envelope.”
“It had your name and Gigi’s name on it.”
Dana and I looked at each other.
“Did you hear them discussing it?”
“Yes.”
“They said the party would give them enough witnesses.”
My hands turned numb.
“Witnesses to what?”
“To prove you were unstable.”
The emergency room seemed to tilt around me.
Melissa continued.
“Arthur said if they got temporary custody of Gigi, they could control her trust.”
The missing money.
The forged signatures.
The staged confrontation.
It was all connected.
A call came through Officer Ramirez’s radio.
A patrol unit had arrived at my parents’ house.
The front door was open.
The living room was empty.
The gold balloons were still floating above the table.
But Arthur, my parents, and Sophie were gone.
Then Melissa whispered something that made everyone in the hallway freeze.
“I know where they took her.”
“Where?”
“The old lake house.”
May you like
She started sobbing.
“And there are locks on the bedroom doors.”
