Chapter 4: The Sister Who Stayed Silent
Darius stared at his phone until the screen dimmed.
Camille Brooks.
His younger sister's name sat beneath the photograph of his wife crying on the nursery floor, as though she had sent him a harmless picture of a family gathering.
For several seconds, he couldn't make the two things fit together.
Camille had been the first person to hold Micah after his birth. She had cried when she met Lila, kissed Nia's forehead, and promised she would be the kind of aunt who showed up with groceries instead of advice.
She had also spent the previous month telling Darius how lucky he was to have Evelyn helping with the babies.
His phone vibrated again.
*Camille: Please don't make this worse than it needs to be.*
Darius read the message twice.
Then he typed, What happened in the nursery?
Three dots appeared.
Disappeared.
Appeared again.
*Camille: Mom told me you were going to ask questions. Just listen to her before you do anything stupid.*
Darius's fingers tightened around the phone.
Beside him, Nia was struggling to sit upright. Her splinted wrist rested against a pillow, and the hospital blanket had slipped from her shoulder. Even under the harsh fluorescent lights, he could see the purple bruising spreading beneath her swollen eye.
"Is that Camille?"" she whispered.
He nodded.
Nia closed her eyes.
"She was there.""
Darius looked at her.
"You saw her?""
"I heard her voice.""
"Why didn't you tell me?""
Nia gave him a tired, disbelieving look.
"Because your mother said Camille would tell everyone I was dangerous.""
Darius's stomach twisted.
He remembered Camille coming to the house three days earlier. She had brought a bag of baby clothes, complained that the twins were keeping everyone awake, and spent twenty minutes whispering with Evelyn in the kitchen.
When Darius asked what they were discussing, Camille had laughed.
"Mom's teaching me all her tricks. Apparently, you were a terrible baby.""
He had laughed too.
He could still hear himself doing it.
Now he wondered what else he had laughed off.
"I need to call her," he said.
Nia caught his sleeve with her good hand.
"Please don't let them get to you.""
He turned toward her.
"They won't.""
"You don't know that.""
"No," he admitted.
"But I know I'm not going to let you face them alone anymore.""
He stepped into the hallway and called Camille.
She answered on the fourth ring.
"Finally," she said.
"I've been trying to reach you.""
Darius leaned against the wall.
"You sent me a picture of my wife crying on the floor.""
"Because you need to understand what Mom has been dealing with.""
"What was Camille Brooks doing in my nursery at 2:13 this afternoon?""
A pause.
Then his sister sighed.
"Don't start interrogating me like I'm some criminal.""
"Were you there?""
"I stopped by.""
"Did you see Mom hurt Nia?""
"I saw Nia having a breakdown.""
Darius shut his eyes.
"That isn't what I asked.""
"She was screaming, Darius. She was acting completely irrationally. Mom was trying to calm her down, and Nia started grabbing at everything.""
"Everything?""
"The baby monitor. Mom's arm. The dresser.
I don't know. It was chaos.""
"Did you see Mom hit her?""
Silence.
"Camille.""
"I didn't see everything.""
The answer was careful. Too careful.
"What did you see?""
"I saw Mom trying to get Lila away from her.""
"Why?""
"Because Nia was upset.""
"Upset enough to hurt a baby?""
"I didn't say that.""
"You sent me a photograph of my wife crying and called it proof of something. What exactly are you trying to prove?""
Camille's breathing grew sharper.
"I'm trying to protect this family.""
"From my wife?""
"From what could happen if you keep pretending everything is fine!""
Darius stared at the hospital corridor.
A nurse passed with a tray of medication. Somewhere behind him, a newborn began crying.
He lowered his voice.
"My wife has a fractured wrist, stitches in her forehead, and a black eye. She says Mom hit her. You were in the house. So tell me what happened.""
Camille went quiet.
Then she said, "Mom told me Nia attacked her first.""
"Did you see that?""
"I saw them arguing.""
"Did you see Nia attack her?""
"I don't know!""
Her voice cracked through the phone.
For a moment, Darius heard the little sister who used to crawl into his bed during thunderstorms, convinced that the noise outside meant the world was ending.
Then her voice hardened again.
"Mom has sacrificed everything for us. You know what she went through after Dad left. She spent her whole life making sure we had a family. And now you're throwing her away for someone you barely knew before you married her.""
Darius felt a bitter laugh rise in his throat.
"Someone I barely knew?""
"You know what I mean.""
"I've been married to Nia for four years. I have two children with her. I know what her face looks like when she's happy, and I know what it looks like when she's afraid.
I came home tonight and she flinched when I touched her. Did Mom tell you about that?""
Camille said nothing.
"Did she tell you Nia was afraid to scream because she didn't know what would happen to the babies?""
"Darius—"
"Did she tell you she threatened to take them away?""
"I don't know what she said!""
"Then stop telling me what to believe.""
He ended the call.
His hands were shaking.
When he returned to the room, Nia was awake, watching the twins sleep.
"She denied it?"" Nia asked.
"She said she didn't see everything.""
Nia looked down at the blanket.
"That's how it starts.""
"What?""
"First, they say they don't know what happened. Then they say you misunderstood. Then they say you deserved it.""
Darius sat beside her.
"Not this time.""
She looked at him with exhausted eyes.
"You said that before.""
He had no answer.
A knock sounded at the door.
Detective Harris stepped inside, carrying a folder. He had returned after receiving the messages Darius had forwarded to him.
"We've identified the number," he said.
"It's registered to your sister, but that doesn't establish who sent the messages. We'll need to examine the original communications and preserve the relevant evidence.""
Darius showed him the photograph and the accompanying texts.
The detective studied them carefully.
"Do you recognize this room?""
"It's our nursery," Darius said.
"And the time mentioned in the message?""
"My wife says the assault happened this afternoon.""
Detective Harris nodded.
"We're going to need the original recording, if one exists. Don't confront your mother or sister about the contents before we've secured the evidence.""
Darius glanced at Nia.
"She says my mother took the monitor down.""
"Then we need to establish where the device is and whether it recorded anything.""
Nia swallowed.
"There was a tablet too.""
The detective turned toward her.
"Can you tell me about that?""
She explained how Evelyn had shown her the videos, how she had refused to sign the document, and how Camille had been present in the nursery that afternoon.
When Nia finished, Detective Harris closed his folder.
"We'll follow up on the device and the recordings. In the meantime, I recommend that you make arrangements to stay somewhere your mother-in-law cannot access.""
"We'll stay with a friend," Darius said.
Nia's face tightened.
"I don't want to leave our home.""
He turned toward her.
"We won't give it up. We'll make it safe first.""
She nodded slowly.
After the detective left, Darius called his best friend, Marcus Reed, who lived fifteen minutes from the hospital.
Marcus answered with a sleepy, "Bro, it's almost two in the morning.""
"I need somewhere to stay with Nia and the twins.""
The sleep vanished from Marcus's voice.
"What happened?""
Darius looked at his wife.
"Mom hurt her.""
There was a long silence.
Then Marcus said, "Bring everybody. I'll get the guest room ready.""
Darius thanked him and hung up.
For a moment, he allowed himself to believe that the worst of the night was behind them.
Then his phone rang.
Camille.
He nearly rejected the call, but something made him answer.
"Did you send those messages?"" he asked.
"No.""
"Then who did?""
"I don't know.""
"Camille, I need the truth.""
She began crying.
Not loudly. Not theatrically. Just a small, ragged sound that reminded him of their childhood.
"Mom told me she was going to make Nia leave," Camille whispered.
Darius went still.
"What?""
"She said Nia wasn't stable enough to raise the twins. She said if you wouldn't listen, she'd make sure someone else did.""
"Who?""
"I don't know. She said she had a plan.""
"What plan?""
Camille took a shaky breath.
"She wanted me to help her get Nia to sign something. She said it was just temporary guardianship paperwork.""
Darius felt the room tilt.
"You knew about the document?""
"Yes.""
"And you said nothing?""
"I thought Mom was trying to help!""
"Help who?""
Camille started crying harder.
"She said Nia would never agree unless she was scared enough.""
Darius couldn't speak.
Then Camille whispered the words that changed everything.
"She told me if Nia fought back, we should record it.""
The line went silent.
Darius stared at his phone.
"Camille, did you record what happened today?""
"I—"
"Did you?""
His sister began to sob.
Then she said, "I didn't record it, Darius.""
He exhaled.
"But Mom did.""
Before he could respond, Camille added, "And she has a copy of the video somewhere else.""
The call ended.
Darius stood in the hallway, listening to the silence on the other end.
Then a message arrived from Camille.
It contained a photograph of a document with a signature line at the bottom.
Above it were the words:
*TEMPORARY CAREGIVER AUTHORIZATION AND MEDICAL DECISION-MAKING CONSENT.*
Nia's name had already been typed into the form.
May you like
The date was tomorrow.
And in the space marked Witness, someone had written Camille Brooks.
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