Chapter 10 - The Price of a Phone
The deleted thread changed everything.
Ryan: DON'T LET HER LEAVE WITH THAT PHONE.
Vanessa: SHE WON'T LISTEN TO ME.
Ryan: THEN TAKE IT.
Vanessa: AND IF SHE FIGHTS ME?
There was a ninety-second gap.
Then Ryan replied.
I DON'T CARE HOW. JUST KEEP HER THERE.
My hands went numb.
Ortiz read the exchange twice.
"This gives us a stronger conspiracy theory," she said, "but the exact intent still matters."
"He didn't have to type 'push my pregnant wife down the stairs' to know what he was starting."
"I agree emotionally. A prosecutor will need to prove the legal pieces."
I hated how calm the law sounded when my life had been anything but.
Vanessa was arrested that afternoon on assault charges.
Her lawyer immediately claimed the shove was accidental.
Ryan's attorney issued a statement calling our marriage "emotionally volatile" and suggesting I had misinterpreted a chaotic moment.
Then Ryan filed for temporary control of the company.
Even from under investigation, he was still trying to take everything.
Dana tossed the court papers onto my hospital tray.
"He says your trauma makes you medically incapable of fulfilling your duties."
I laughed.
"He tried to put me in the hospital, and now he's using the hospital against me."
"Exactly. Which is why we're going to court tomorrow by video."
Maya looked worried.
"Should Emily be doing this?"
I answered before Dana could.
"Yes."
The next morning, I appeared from my hospital room in a cardigan, with fetal monitors hidden below the camera frame.
Ryan appeared in a suit from his lawyer's office.
He looked polished, wounded, reasonable.
Then his attorney said the words I had been waiting for.
"Mr. Mercer is concerned that his wife's judgment has become unstable."
Dana smiled.
"Your Honor, we'd like to play a video."
Ryan's face changed.
He hadn't known about Luis's trail camera.
May you like
And when the first frame appeared on the judge's screen, he whispered something his microphone caught perfectly.
"Where the hell did they get that?"
