Chapter 3 - The Interrogation in the Hallway
"Is this true, Mr. Miller?" Officer Vance asked, turning his sharp gaze toward Daniel. "Did you witness the altercation?"
Daniel swallowed hard, his Adam's apple bobbing violently. He looked at Patricia, then down at his shoes, paralyzed by the lifelong conditioning of submitting to his mother's iron will.
"I... I was in the bedroom," Daniel stammered, his voice pathetic and small. "I heard a crash and yelling. When I came out, Lily was on the floor. I... I don't know who struck who. Emily was exhausted, Officer. She hasn't been sleeping well since the baby came home."
Emily felt a cold wave of disgust wash over her. Not a shred of grief for his dying daughter, not an ounce of loyalty to his wife—just an immediate retreat to protect the family dynamic his mother commanded.
"You coward," Emily whispered, looking at Daniel as if he were a stranger. "Your daughter is fighting for her life behind those doors, and you're still covering for her."
"Mrs. Miller," Officer Vance interrupted, stepping closer to Emily with a sympathetic yet resolute expression. "I need to secure the residence immediately. If an assault took place at your home, the hallway floor, the point of impact, and any potential witness statements or security hardware need to be secured before anything is altered."
"Our home is two miles away," Emily said, holding out her car keys. "Take my keys. The front door is unlocked, and the nursery camera is mounted directly in the hallway overlooking the spot where she hit me."
Patricia’s head snapped up. "The nursery camera was unplugged! It didn't record anything!"
The moment the words left Patricia’s mouth, the hallway fell into a dead, suffocating silence.
Patricia froze, realizing too late what she had just confessed to.
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Officer Vance’s eyes narrowed instantly. He slowly turned his gaze back to Patricia, his pencil hovering over his notepad. "How did you know the camera was unplugged, ma'am? If you weren't standing in that hallway when it happened, and your son was in the bedroom, how did you know the recording device wasn't running?"
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