Chapter 10 - The Christmas Recording
I had forgotten about my uncle’s phone.
He had been recording Emma’s first Christmas dinner.
Not continuously.
Just little family moments.
A toast.
Grandma holding Emma.
Tyler opening a gift.
Then the incident happened.
The phone remained recording on a sideboard.
My uncle called James.
“I think I have something.”
We watched the video together.
The camera did not show Lauren’s hand clearly.
But the audio was unmistakable.
Emma fussing.
Lauren saying:
“She’s spoiled already.”
My voice:
“She’s a baby.”
Then a sharp sound.
Emma screaming.
Me shouting:
“What did you just do?”
Lauren answering:
“Relax.”
Then:
“It was a tap.”
Then the silence.
That silence mattered.
No one sounded confused.
Nobody said the strike never happened.
Nobody challenged my description.
Then James’s chair scraped.
“Get out.”
Lauren laughed.
James repeated it.
The recording captured everything.
Including my mother whispering:
“James, surely that isn’t necessary.”
When Mom learned about the video, she panicked.
“Please don’t give that to anyone.”
“Why?”
“You’ll humiliate us.”
“Us?”
“The family.”
I stared at her.
“You are still worried about appearances.”
“That’s not fair.”
“It is literally on the recording.”
Mom began crying.
Then she said something I never expected.
“I’m afraid.”
“Of what?”
“Of Lauren.”
I stopped.
“What?”
Mom covered her face.
“She calls me at night.”
“What does she say?”
“That if Tyler is taken, it’s my fault.”
My anger shifted.
“She threatens you?”
“Not exactly.”
“Mom.”
“She says she has nothing left.”
I sat down.
“Has she threatened herself?”
“No.”
“Has she threatened you?”
Mom hesitated.
“Once.”
James leaned forward.
“What did she say?”
Mom’s voice became tiny.
“She said if I ever chose Sarah over her again, I would regret it.”
The room went quiet.
For the first time, my mother was not defending Lauren because she thought Lauren was innocent.
May you like
She was defending her because she was afraid of what happened when Lauren felt abandoned.
That changed everything.
