Chapter 14 - The Missing Half Sentence
In the edited clip, Lily sat on a couch, looking toward someone outside the frame.
"I'm scared of Daddy," she whispered.
Then the video ended.
Daniel sat motionless while Mara replayed it.
"That's her voice."
"Yes," Mara said. "We're not going to deny what she said. We're going to ask what question she was answering."
The household tablet held an earlier backup of the video. A technician retrieved the untrimmed version while preserving the file history. In it, Vanessa asked, "Are you scared Daddy will stop loving you if you make mistakes?"
Lily nodded. "I'm scared Daddy will be sad and not want me."
"Say it shorter," Vanessa instructed.
There were three attempts before Lily said the words used in the edited clip.
Daniel pushed back from the desk. His hands were shaking so hard he folded them together.
"She made my daughter rehearse being afraid of me."
"We have evidence of coaching," Mara said. "Let the investigators evaluate it. Don't confront Vanessa."
The technician also found a deleted message exchange between Vanessa and Grant. One line read: Mercer's statement goes first. The girl can explain the rest once she's placed.
Daniel wanted to confront Vanessa. Instead, he went home and built a crooked block tower with Lily.
"What happens if it falls?" she asked.
"We build another one."
"Even if I knock it down?"
"Especially then."
She pushed the tower with one finger. They both laughed when the blocks tumbled.
The laughter ended when Daniel's phone rang.
Aaron Pike had obtained a copy of the revised drainage report's submission record. The file had been uploaded through a county contractor account.
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The account's authorized user was a man named Grant Vale.
And the access logs showed the same account had been used to approve the plan.
