Chapter 2: The Video She Wasn't Supposed to Save
“Give me that.””
Nicole's voice had changed completely.
The tears vanished. So did the trembling hands and the wounded expression she had worn for Dad.
She stood in the middle of the kitchen, staring at Lily's flash drive as if it were a loaded weapon.
“Lily, honey,” she said, trying again with a softer tone, “you don't understand what you're holding. Give it to Mommy.””
Lily immediately stepped behind Dad.
“No.””
“Don't be difficult.””
“You told me Emily broke the tablet.””
“Because she did!””
“But I saw what happened.””
Nicole's mouth snapped shut.
Dad slowly turned toward his wife.
“What exactly did you do?””
Nicole laughed nervously.
“Marcus, she's ten. She misunderstands things all the time. She probably saw Emily near Madison's room and made up the rest.””
“I didn't make anything up,” Lily whispered.
Nicole pointed at her.
“Go upstairs. Right now.””
Dad's voice cut through the kitchen.
“I said nobody is going anywhere until I understand what's happening.””
For a moment, Nicole looked ready to argue.
Then she noticed the way Dad was staring at my cheek.
I had moved away from the counter and was holding a cold washcloth against my face. My skin had begun to swell, and the pressure of the cloth made my eyes water.
Dad approached me.
“Emily, look at me.””
I lowered the washcloth.
His expression broke.
“Oh, sweetheart.””
He reached toward my face, then stopped before touching it.
“Did she hit you?””
I nodded.
One tear rolled down my cheek.
“She slapped me because I told her I hadn't broken the tablet.””
Dad closed his eyes briefly.
When he opened them, he looked at Nicole.
“You hit my daughter?””
Nicole folded her arms.
“Don't turn this into something it isn't. She was screaming at me. She was disrespectful. I lost my temper for one second.””
“You said you didn't hit her.””
“I was trying to explain the situation!””
“You told me she was flailing around.””
“Marcus, I am not going to stand here and let a seventeen-year-old girl manipulate you against your wife.””
Dad stared at her.
“Your wife?””
Nicole's face hardened.
“Yes. Your wife. The woman who cooks for this family, cleans this house, and takes care of your children while you spend twelve hours a day at work.””
“I never asked you to hit anyone.””
“I didn't—”
“You just admitted you lost your temper.””
She looked toward Lily.
“This is what happens when children are allowed to interfere in adult conversations.””
Lily's fingers tightened around the flash drive.
“I'm not interfering. I'm telling the truth.””
Nicole stepped forward.
“Lily, I have had enough.””
Dad raised his arm to stop her.
“Stay where you are.””
That was when I noticed something strange.
Nicole wasn't just angry.
She was terrified.
Her gaze kept darting toward the flash drive, then toward the living room, where the family computer sat on a desk beside the window.
Whatever Lily had saved, Nicole knew it existed.
And she knew it could hurt her.
Dad pulled out a chair.
“Lily, sweetheart, come sit down. Tell me what you saw.””
Lily glanced at me.
I nodded.
She walked to the table and sat down, keeping the flash drive tucked inside her fist.
“It happened yesterday,” she began.
“After school.””
Nicole immediately interrupted.
“This is ridiculous. She wasn't even home when—”
“Nicole,” Dad said sharply.
His wife fell silent.
Lily continued.
“Madison was in the living room with her tablet. Mom told her to finish her homework, but Madison wanted to watch videos.””
“That's not relevant,” Nicole snapped.
Dad gave her a warning look.
“Let her finish.””
Lily took a shaky breath.
“Madison got mad because Mom took the charger away. She threw the tablet onto the couch, but it slid off and hit the coffee table.””
I remembered hearing a loud crash when I came home from school the previous afternoon. I had assumed Dad had dropped something in the garage.
Lily looked at the floor.
“The screen cracked. Madison started crying, and Mom told her to stop making noise.””
Nicole shook her head.
“That's not what happened.””
Lily's voice trembled, but she continued.
“Then Mom said nobody could know because Dad had just bought the tablet, and he would be furious if he found out Madison broke it.””
Dad slowly turned toward Nicole.
“Is that true?””
“No.””
Lily lifted her eyes.
“You told Madison that if she blamed Emily, Dad would believe her because he always believes you.””
The kitchen went so quiet that I could hear the refrigerator humming.
Nicole's face flushed.
“That's an outrageous lie.””
“Then watch the video.””
Lily placed the flash drive on the table.
Dad stared at it for a moment before picking it up.
“Where did you get this?””
“I copied the video from the family computer.””
Nicole shot to her feet.
“You went through my computer?””
“I didn't go through anything!”” Lily cried.
“The camera was already recording.””
Dad frowned.
“What camera?””
Lily looked at him.
“The security camera in the living room.””
My stomach tightened.
We had installed the camera six months earlier after a package disappeared from our front porch. Dad had connected it to the family computer so he could check the footage whenever he wanted.
Nicole had insisted on handling the settings because she claimed she was better with technology.
Apparently, she had forgotten that the camera recorded sound.
Dad picked up the flash drive.
“Why didn't you tell me about this yesterday?””
Lily's face crumpled.
“Because Mom told me not to.””
Nicole let out a bitter laugh.
“Marcus, listen to yourself. You're seriously going to trust a ten-year-old's interpretation of a video over your own wife?””
Dad didn't answer.
He walked toward the living room.
“Let's watch it.””
Nicole followed him immediately.
“Marcus, please. Think about what you're doing. This is a private family matter.””
“Then the truth shouldn't be a problem.””
He inserted the flash drive into the computer.
Lily stood beside me, holding my hand so tightly that her fingers hurt.
The screen flickered.
A grainy image appeared, showing our living room from the camera mounted near the ceiling.
Madison sat on the couch, scrolling through her tablet. Nicole stood by the window, sorting through a stack of mail.
The timestamp read 3:42 p.m.
Madison suddenly jumped up.
“Mom, where's the charger?””
Nicole didn't look up.
“Where I left it. Finish your homework.””
“I can't. My tablet's dying.””
“Then perhaps you should have done your homework instead of watching videos.””
Madison rolled her eyes.
“You're so annoying.””
“Excuse me?””
“Nothing.””
Madison flung the tablet onto the couch.
It bounced off the cushion, struck the edge of the coffee table, and fell onto the hardwood floor.
The crack was audible even through the computer speakers.
Madison froze.
Then she picked up the tablet.
“Oh my God!””
Nicole hurried over.
“What happened?””
Madison turned the broken screen toward her mother.
“Mom!””
Nicole's expression changed instantly.
“What did you do?””
“I didn't mean to!””
“You were supposed to be doing homework!””
Madison began to cry.
“You said I could use it!””
“I said you could use it after your homework was finished!””
“I hate this stupid thing!””
Nicole snatched the tablet from her daughter's hands and examined the shattered screen.
Then she looked directly toward the camera.
Her expression turned cold.
“Your father is going to lose his mind when he sees this.””
Madison wiped her eyes.
“Please don't tell him.””
Nicole stared at the screen for several seconds.
Then she said something that made my blood run cold.
“We'll tell him Emily broke it.””
Madison blinked.
“What?””
“Your sister is always getting into your things. He'll believe me if I tell him I caught her.””
“But Emily wasn't even here.””
“Then you should be grateful she's not.””
Madison hesitated.
“Won't Dad check the camera?””
Nicole looked toward the ceiling.
For a moment, I thought she might have noticed the recording.
Then she smiled.
“He never checks it unless something gets stolen.””
Madison's tears stopped.
“So I won't get in trouble?””
“No. But you will do exactly as I tell you.””
Madison nodded.
Nicole leaned closer to her daughter and spoke in a voice that made my skin crawl.
“And if your sister tries to defend herself, you tell your father she's always been jealous of you.””
The video continued for another minute, but I barely heard anything else.
Dad stopped playback.
His face had gone completely still.
Nobody spoke.
Nicole was the first to break the silence.
“Marcus, you have to understand the context.””
He turned slowly.
“What context?””
“She was upset. Madison was upset. I was trying to protect her.””
“By blaming Emily?””
“I didn't think you'd actually—”
“You watched your daughter break an eight-hundred-dollar tablet. Then you planned to blame mine.””
Nicole's lips trembled.
“I was going to replace it.””
“With what money?””
She hesitated.
Dad's eyes narrowed.
“What do you mean?””
Nicole looked away.
“It's not important.””
“Then why did you lie?””
“Because I knew you'd overreact!””
Dad stared at her as if he no longer recognized the woman standing in front of him.
I wanted to feel triumphant.
I wanted to smile and tell Nicole that she deserved every second of this humiliation.
Instead, I felt hollow.
For years, I had wondered whether I was imagining the difference in the way she treated Madison and me. I had questioned my own memory after every argument, wondering if I really was too sensitive, too difficult, too ungrateful.
Now there was proof.
And it hurt more than I expected.
Dad turned toward me.
“Emily, I'm sorry.””
I looked at him.
He swallowed hard.
“I should have listened to you.””
I wanted to tell him that he should have listened long before today.
I wanted to tell him about the lunches Nicole had thrown away because she said I didn't deserve special treatment, about the money she claimed I had stolen, and about the night she told me I was the reason Dad looked so tired.
But Lily was still holding my hand.
And I could feel her trembling.
So I simply nodded.
Dad turned back to Nicole.
“You're going to apologize to Emily.””
Nicole stared at him.
“Are you serious?””
“Yes.””
“For what? Losing my temper?””
“For hitting her. For lying about her. For trying to make me believe she was responsible for something Madison did.””
Nicole's expression hardened.
“I'm not apologizing to a girl who has spent three years trying to destroy our marriage.””
My breath caught.
There it was.
The accusation she had been saving for years.
Dad frowned.
“What does that mean?””
Nicole looked at me with open contempt.
“Ask your daughter why she has never accepted me. Ask her why she constantly undermines my authority. Ask her why she can't stand seeing Madison happy.””
“That's enough,” Dad said.
“No, Marcus. I'm tired of being the villain in this house.””
She grabbed her purse from the counter.
“I have sacrificed everything for this family, and the moment your precious daughter cries, you turn against me.””
Dad didn't move.
“You hit her.””
“And I said I lost my temper!””
“You lied about it.””
Nicole stared at him for several seconds.
Then she looked toward Lily.
“You have no idea what you've done.””
Lily's face went white.
Dad stepped forward.
“Don't you dare threaten her.””
Nicole's jaw tightened.
She turned and stormed out of the kitchen, her heels striking the floor so hard that the sound followed her all the way upstairs.
A door slammed.
Lily immediately burst into tears.
I pulled her into my arms.
“You did the right thing,” I whispered.
She buried her face against my shoulder.
“I was scared she'd hate me.””
I held her tighter.
“I'm proud of you.””
Dad stood beside us, looking at the computer screen.
For a moment, I thought the worst was over.
Then the computer chimed.
A notification appeared in the corner of the screen.
*Security footage deleted from cloud storage.*
Dad frowned and clicked on it.
The notification expanded.
*Administrator action: All recordings scheduled for permanent deletion.*
He looked at Lily.
“Did you do this?””
She shook her head quickly.
“No!””
Dad stared at the screen.
Then he checked the security settings.
His expression changed.
“Someone just tried to erase the entire camera history.””
May you like
He looked toward the staircase.
And from upstairs, we heard Nicole's bedroom door lock.
