Chapter 3 - THE EDITED VIDEO
By midnight, strangers were calling me a monster.
Brooke’s edited video began with me crossing the dining room.
It showed the first slap.
It showed Jason’s glasses falling into the soup.
It showed the second and third slaps.
Then it ended.
There was no image of Diane striking Lily.
There was no sound of my daughter screaming.
There was no recording of Jason refusing to stand.
Brooke had cut away every second that explained what happened.
The comments were merciless.
People demanded that Jason take Lily from me.
Others said women like me destroyed innocent men.
Several tagged the Chicago Police Department.
Someone found the design company where I worked remotely.
By morning, my supervisor had received more than two hundred messages demanding that I be fired.
I sat on the apartment floor while Lily slept beside me.
For the first time since leaving the condo, doubt crept in.
Diane had money.
She had relatives willing to lie.
She had spent decades building relationships with attorneys, doctors, and donors.
I had photographs and medical records.
But she had influence.
Mara arrived before breakfast.
She carried coffee, a second phone, and printed copies of the online posts.
“Do not respond publicly.”
“They’re contacting my employer.”
“Your employer called me.”
My heart dropped.
“Am I fired?”
“No.”
Mara placed her phone on the table.
“Your supervisor said the company will not make a decision based on an edited family video.”
I covered my face.
Relief came so quickly that I nearly cried.
Mara sat across from me.
“We need the original livestream.”
“Brooke controlled it.”
“Was anyone else watching?”
“Dozens of relatives.”
“Did anyone record it?”
I remembered the comments appearing on Brooke’s screen during dinner.
Some relatives had watched from other states.
My cousin Leah had been watching from Milwaukee.
She was the only person in the family who had warned me about Diane before I married Jason.
I called her.
Leah answered on the first ring.
“Emily, I’ve been trying to reach you.”
“Did you see what happened?”
“I saw everything.”
“Did you record it?”
There was a brief silence.
“My husband records family livestreams for my grandmother because she doesn’t understand the app.”
I stood so quickly that the coffee spilled.
“You have the whole video?”
“From the moment Diane started opening gifts.”
Mara took the phone.
“Leah, do not send that recording to anyone except me.”
Leah agreed.
Twenty minutes later, the complete video arrived through an encrypted link.
Mara played it on the television.
The footage was clear.
Diane screamed when Lily spilled the soup.
She pulled Lily from the booster seat.
Her hand swung across the child’s face.
The sound was unmistakable.
Jason remained seated.
Then the recording showed me slapping him.
The full truth existed in one unbroken sequence.
Mara made several secure copies.
“This changes everything.”
Before she could explain, my phone rang.
It was Jason.
Mara activated the speaker.
“I know where you are,” he said.
My blood turned cold.
The apartment address was confidential.
“How?”
Jason’s breathing filled the line.
“Because Mom hired someone to follow Mara’s car.”
A hard knock struck the apartment door.
Lily woke and began to cry.
Jason lowered his voice.
“Emily, don’t open it.”
Another knock followed.
May you like
Then Diane spoke from the hallway.
“I know you’re in there.”
