Chapter 4 - The Affidavit.
Vanessa’s affidavit described Nora as volatile, jealous, and obsessed with destroying Marcus’s reputation.
It claimed Nora had threatened to “make the courthouse explode with scandal” if Marcus refused to increase the divorce settlement.
It claimed Vanessa had approached only to calm her down.
It claimed Nora deliberately threw herself against the table.
Nora read the final paragraph twice.
“This is insane.”
Dana sat beside her.
“It is also sworn under penalty of perjury.”
Elias remained near the window.
He did not ask to see the document.
He seemed almost determined not to learn more than any other parent would be permitted to know.
Nora noticed.
“You can read it.”
“No.”
“It’s public now.”
“That is not the issue.”
His voice remained calm.
“I recused myself because even the appearance that I might influence this matter can damage you.”
Nora looked down at the blanket.
“I spent years thinking you cared more about rules than me.”
Elias took a slow breath.
“I cared about rules because they are what stop people with power from deciding they deserve exceptions.”
The sentence hung between them.
Nora thought of Marcus changing the locks because she had embarrassed him.
She thought of Marcus cancelling her credit card because she had ordered a train ticket.
She thought of all the exceptions he gave himself.
Dana’s laptop chimed again.
“Security released a preliminary preservation summary.”
She scanned the message.
“The video contradicts several parts of Vanessa’s affidavit.”
Nora let out a breath.
“But?”
Dana looked at her.
“But Marcus is asking the court to exclude the recording because Judge Bennett was still in the building when preservation was requested.”
Elias’s eyes hardened.
“I made no request.”
Dana nodded.
“The administrator initiated preservation automatically because the incident occurred in a courtroom.”
“That will be documented.”
“It already is.”
For the first time that afternoon, Nora felt something resembling relief.
Then her phone buzzed.
Marcus’s name appeared on the screen.
Dana held out a hand.
“Do not answer unless you want the contact preserved.”
Nora stared at the vibrating phone.
Marcus called again.
Then a text appeared.
YOU ARE MAKING THIS WORSE.
A second arrived.
YOUR FATHER CANNOT SAVE YOU.
A third.
COME HOME TONIGHT AND WE CAN FIX THIS BEFORE YOU LOSE EVERYTHING.
Nora’s fingers trembled.
Dana photographed the messages using her own phone and forwarded screenshots to secure storage.
Elias turned away toward the window.
Nora knew why.
He was angry enough that silence required effort.
Another message appeared.
This one was different.
CHECK THE NURSERY CAMERA BEFORE YOU DECIDE WHO YOU TRUST.
Nora sat upright too quickly.
Pain pulled through her side.
“What nursery camera?” Dana asked.
Nora stared at Marcus’s text.
“There’s a camera in the nursery.”
“I thought Marcus disabled it weeks ago.”
Dana leaned closer.
“Do you still have access?”
Nora opened the home-security application.
Her password failed.
She tried again.
ACCESS REVOKED.
Then an alert appeared beneath the login screen.
One clip had been automatically backed up to Nora’s personal cloud account before access was removed.
The timestamp was from three nights earlier.
Dana looked at her.
“Do you want to open it?”
Nora pressed play.
The screen showed the empty nursery.
Then Marcus entered with Vanessa.
Vanessa carried a cardboard box.
May you like
Marcus carried Nora’s locked document case.
And he was holding the only key Nora had believed was still hidden in her desk.
