Chapter 2 - THE CAMERA LIGHT
Evelyn moved first.
She stepped toward the sliding door so quickly that her chair tipped backward.
Daniel blocked her path.
"Where are you going?"
"Inside. This ridiculous scene is over."
"No."
The word came out flat.
Owen trembled against him.
Sarah hurried forward and took their son carefully. "I'll get the car."
Evelyn's eyes snapped toward her daughter-in-law.
"You're not taking him anywhere until he apologizes for lying about me."
Sarah stopped.
Daniel had heard his mother say cruel things before. He had spent years calling them bluntness, stress, old-fashioned discipline—anything except what they were.
This time there was nowhere left to hide.
"Move away from my son," he said.
Evelyn laughed once. "Your son? I practically raised him while she played at being a mother."
Sarah flinched.
Daniel reached above the pantry door and unplugged the camera hub before Evelyn could touch it.
A tiny green light blinked on the device.
Still recording.
Still storing.
He slipped it into his jacket pocket.
Evelyn stared at the pocket.
"Those cheap cameras overwrite themselves," she said quickly.
Daniel noticed the mistake.
He had never told her how the system worked.
"How do you know that?"
She said nothing.
Owen whimpered and bent forward in Sarah's arms.
That ended the argument.
They rushed through the house and out the front door.
As Daniel opened the passenger door, Owen caught his sleeve.
"Dad."
"What is it?"
"Grandma did something before she gave me the tea."
Daniel leaned closer.
May you like
Owen swallowed hard.
"She took a little white envelope out of her purse."
