Chapter 15 - The Practice Run
Rose remembered the moment clearly now. She had walked into the laundry room and seen Wren standing in front of a camera, her shirt wet, while Celia told her to cry louder.
"Celia said they were making a funny video," Rose told Detective Park. "I told her to stop. She took the phone away and said I was ruining a family activity."
"Did you record it?" Park asked.
"No. I wrote it down that night. I wish I'd done more."
"Your notes are useful. The responsibility lies with the people who hurt the child."
The investigation grew from a single injury into a pattern. Park requested relevant records, spoke with Kira, and documented the attempts to discredit Rose. The original soup video remained the clearest evidence of what happened in the kitchen.
Celia's lawyer sent a letter accusing Rose of stealing my father's watch. I found the watch that evening in my mother's locked jewelry drawer, where Elaine said she'd put it "for safekeeping."
Priya made sure the discovery was documented. The accusation did not become true simply because it was printed on expensive stationery.
That evening, Rose stood by the kitchen doorway at Hannah's, staring at her hands.
"I almost quit in June," she admitted. "I told myself I'd stay one more week because Wren needed someone. Then another week."
"You helped her survive this," I said.
"She should never have needed me to survive her own home."
I couldn't disagree.
A police officer called after dinner. Celia had been arrested on charges relating to the assault, and investigators were still reviewing possible additional offenses. The court would decide release conditions.
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Then Priya called with news of a different kind.
"Mark, West's company has filed a document claiming the trust owes it a cancellation penalty. They want hundreds of thousands of dollars."
