Chapter 5 - The Setup
Nobody spoke.
Rachel’s phone kept playing.
Mia’s small voice trembled through the speaker.
“What do you mean?”
Vanessa answered.
“You’ll find out.”
Then came the sound of tearing fabric.
Mia cried out.
The recording stopped.
Officer Ramirez looked at Vanessa.
Her attorney stepped in immediately.
“My client will not answer further questions.”
Vanessa glared at Rachel.
“You were recording me?”
Rachel’s voice shook, but she didn’t back down.
“Yes.”
“You had no right.”
“You had your hand in a child’s hair.”
Vanessa stepped toward her.
Officer Ramirez moved between them.
“That’s enough.”
For once, Vanessa stopped.
Not because she respected him.
Because she finally understood there were witnesses she couldn’t control.
Officer Ramirez asked Rachel to send him the original file.
Then he turned to Vanessa.
“I’m asking you to remain available while we determine next steps.”
Her attorney whispered something in her ear.
She grabbed her purse.
“This town has known my family for forty years,” she said.
Officer Ramirez didn’t blink.
“Tonight I’m interested in the last forty minutes.”
I almost smiled.
Almost.
Then my phone rang.
Daniel.
Mia’s father.
I looked at the screen.
Somehow, I already knew.
Vanessa had called him.
I answered.
“Claire, what the hell is going on?”
His voice was loud enough for people nearby to hear.
“Your sister assaulted our daughter.”
“Vanessa says you attacked her in front of half the school.”
“Did she mention the security footage?”
Silence.
“Did she mention the recording?”
Another silence.
Then Daniel lowered his voice.
“Claire, don’t do anything stupid.”
I felt my fingers tighten around the phone.
“Excuse me?”
“Vanessa said police are there.”
“Yes.”
“Do not press charges until I get there.”
I looked at Mia.
She was sitting beside the counselor, wiping her face with the sleeve of an oversized sweatshirt.
“Why?”
“Because this affects everyone.”
“No. It affects Mia.”
“You know what I mean.”
Unfortunately, I did.
The family name.
The foundation.
His parents.
His sister.
Appearances.
Always appearances.
“Daniel, your daughter is sitting here in torn clothes because your sister grabbed her hair and ripped her dress.”
“I’m on my way.”
“That wasn’t my question.”
“What question?”
“Whose side are you on?”
He went quiet.
Too quiet.
Then he said the worst possible thing.
“I need to hear Vanessa’s side.”
I hung up.
Mia had heard him.
I could tell from her face.
She looked down.
“Dad doesn’t believe me.”
I walked over and knelt in front of her.
“He hasn’t seen the video.”
“But you believed me before you saw it.”
That hit me right in the chest.
Before I could answer, Principal Harris came back into the room.
His phone was in his hand.
His expression was sick.
“What now?” I asked.
He turned the screen toward me.
It was an email.
From the district superintendent.
Sent less than two minutes earlier.
May you like
Effective immediately, Principal Harris was being ordered to turn over all video evidence to district legal counsel.
And until further notice, he was forbidden from releasing a copy to me.
