CHAPTER 8 — THE PEOPLE WHO WATCHED
Linda stood outside the gate with tears in her eyes.
Daniel did not open it.
“You laughed,” he said through the intercom.
“I know.”
“Why?”
“I was uncomfortable.”
“So you laughed while my wife begged to rest?”
Linda covered her mouth.
“Patricia makes everyone feel like there’s only one safe choice. Agree with her or become her next target.”
“You’re a grown woman.”
“I know.”
“That isn’t an excuse.”
“No,” Linda whispered. “It isn’t.”
Daniel stared at the screen.
For once, Linda was not asking him to forgive Patricia. She was admitting her own cowardice.
“Why give me the video?”
“Because Rachel has another one.”
Daniel’s heart began pounding.
“What does it show?”
“Olivia collapsing.”
Linda sent the second recording.
The camera shook as Olivia gripped the kitchen island.
Her knees buckled.
She struck the floor hard.
Sophie began screaming from the bassinet.
Several relatives gasped.
A man stood halfway from his chair.
Patricia raised one hand.
“Sit down,” she said. “She does this whenever she wants attention.”
The man slowly sat.
For nearly two minutes, nobody moved.
Olivia lay motionless.
Patricia resumed cutting her turkey.
Daniel stopped the video.
He could not watch more.
Linda’s voice came through the speaker.
“I should have helped her.”
“Yes.”
“I’m sorry.”
“You need to apologize to Olivia, not me.”
“I will.”
“When she’s ready.”
Daniel sent both videos to Rebecca and the police.
The footage spread through the family before nightfall.
Rachel had shared it with two cousins, who shared it with others.
Patricia’s public support collapsed almost immediately.
Relatives began deleting comments defending her.
Some posted apologies.
Others claimed they had never known the full story.
Patricia removed her original post.
Then she replaced it with a new statement.
A PRIVATE FAMILY MEDICAL EVENT HAS BEEN ILLEGALLY RECORDED AND MANIPULATED. I WILL NOT RESPOND TO HARASSMENT.
Daniel nearly laughed.
She had called Olivia’s collapse attention-seeking when she believed no evidence existed.
Now it was a private medical event.
At midnight, Michael called.
“Patricia contacted me.”
“What did she want?”
“She offered me money to say the trust documents were fake.”
Daniel sat upright.
“How much?”
“Twenty thousand dollars.”
“Did you record her?”
“I did.”
Daniel closed his eyes.
His father had failed him years ago.
But this time, Michael had not walked away.
“There’s something else,” Michael said. “She told me she knows where Olivia’s mother lives.”
Daniel stood immediately.
“What did she mean by that?”
“I don’t know.”
Daniel called Olivia’s mother, Janet.
No answer.
He called again.
Still nothing.
May you like
On the third attempt, someone picked up.
But the voice on the other end was Patricia’s.
