Chapter 12
Sarah came home immediately.
She walked in the door, out of breath.
"What is it? What's wrong?"
I held up the envelope.
"Emily came," I said. "My cousin's wife. She saw everything. And she recorded it."
Sarah stared at the envelope.
Then she sat down.
Hard.
"Show me," she said.
I plugged the USB drive into my laptop.
I opened the video file.
We watched together.
The video was shaky.
The audio was clear.
We could hear Bethany's voice.
Sharp.
Angry.
"You spoiled little brat!"
Then we heard Rosie crying.
"Let go! You're hurting me!"
Then a loud slap.
Rosie screamed.
Then Bethany's voice again.
Cold.
Cruel.
"That's what you get. You need to learn some respect."
Then murmuring.
Other voices.
Relatives.
Telling Bethany to calm down.
But not one of them telling her she was wrong.
Not one of them checking on Rosie.
The video ended.
Sarah was crying.
I was crying too.
We held each other.
The proof we needed.
Right there.
Irrefutable.
Undeniable.
We called Karen immediately.
She came over within an hour.
She watched the video.
She read Emily's statement.
Her face was serious.
Then she smiled.
A small, victorious smile.
"This changes everything," she said. "With this, they don't have a case. Not a leg to stand on."
"What about Emily?" I asked. "She's scared. My family will retaliate."
Karen nodded.
"We'll make sure she's protected," she said. "We can ask for witness protection if needed. But first, I need to talk to her. Get her statement officially on record."
I gave her Emily's phone number.
I had gotten it before she left.
Karen left to make the arrangements.
Sarah and I sat in the quiet living room.
Rosie was still watching cartoons.
Innocent.
Oblivious.
"We're going to win," Sarah said.
I nodded.
"I know."
But I also knew my family.
They wouldn't go down without a fight.
And now that we had this video... they would be desperate.
Desperate people do desperate things.
I was right.
That night, around two in the morning.
The fire alarm went off.
Loud.
Shrill.
I jumped out of bed.
Sarah was already up.
"Rosie!" she shouted.
I ran to her room.
She was sitting up in bed, scared.
The alarm was deafening.
I grabbed her.
"Come on, baby!"
Sarah grabbed the emergency bag we had packed.
We ran to the front door.
I threw it open.
Smoke billowed in from the porch.
Someone had set fire to the doormat.
And the wooden porch rail was already burning.
Sarah called 911.
I grabbed the fire extinguisher from the kitchen.
I sprayed the fire.
It was small.
Contained.
I put it out quickly.
But the message was clear.
This was a warning.
The fire department arrived.
They checked everything.
Confirmed it was arson.
The police arrived too.
They took fingerprints.
They took statements.
But they didn't have any suspects.
Not yet.
Sarah and I sat on the front steps.
Rosie was asleep in Sarah's arms.
Exhausted from the scare.
The porch was blackened.
Smoke stained the walls.
Our home was damaged.
But we were alive.
We were safe.
For now.
"They tried to burn us out," Sarah said quietly.
"They failed," I said.
Sarah looked at me.
"They're getting desperate," she said.
"Good," I said. "Desperate people make mistakes."
May you like
And I was right.
Because the very next day, we got a phone call that would end everything.
