Chapter 7 - THE MAN BEHIND THE CAMERA
I called Jason from Mara’s office.
He answered after one ring.
“Were you inside your mother’s condo when those emails were sent?”
His breathing changed.
“Emily, I can explain.”
“Did you send the custody petition?”
“Yes.”
“Did you send the message about Lily’s arm?”
“Yes.”
“Why hide your identity?”
“Because Mom checks my phone.”
“You are thirty-two years old.”
“I know.”
“You watched your mother hurt our daughter.”
“I tried to stop her.”
“The recording says you helped invent the lie.”
“I was afraid.”
“For yourself?”
He did not answer.
I stood beside Mara’s window and watched cars move along the street below.
“Were you ever afraid for Lily?”
“Yes.”
“Then why did you leave her alone with Diane?”
“Because Mom said she would destroy me financially.”
Jason explained that Diane controlled part of the family investment company.
His job, health insurance, and trust payments were tied to her approval.
She had threatened to remove him from the business.
She had threatened to expose debts he had hidden from me.
“What debts?”
Another silence followed.
Jason had lost almost eighty thousand dollars through online sports betting.
He had borrowed from Diane to hide it.
In return, she demanded control.
She reviewed our bank accounts.
She approved our vacations.
She decided where Lily attended preschool.
She even selected the pediatrician.
Every time I believed Jason was weak, he had also been protecting a secret.
“Why did you prepare the custody petition?”
“Mom said you were planning to leave.”
“Did you intend to file it?”
“I didn’t know.”
“That is not an answer.”
“I thought I could frighten you into staying.”
The truth hurt more than another lie.
Jason had not merely failed to protect us.
He had helped create the cage.
Mara took the phone.
“Mr. Bennett, are you willing to provide a sworn statement about Lily’s broken arm?”
Jason panicked.
“My mother will know.”
“She already knows someone released the recording.”
“She’ll take everything.”
Mara’s voice remained calm.
“You are deciding whether money matters more than your daughter.”
Jason began crying.
I had seen him cry only twice.
Once when his father died.
Once when his favorite baseball team lost the championship.
Now he cried because his life of comfort was collapsing.
Not because Lily had been injured.
Not because he had betrayed me.
He asked to meet privately.
Mara refused.
Any meeting would occur with attorneys present.
Before ending the call, Jason whispered, “There’s more.”
“What?”
“Mom kept journals.”
“What kind of journals?”
“She wrote down everything she did for the family.”
“Where are they?”
“In the locked cabinet behind her bedroom mirror.”
The call ended.
That evening, police arrested Diane for violating the protective order by following us to the apartment.
She posted bail within two hours.
When she returned to the condo, the cabinet behind her mirror was empty.
The journals were gone.
So was Jason.
May you like
His phone had been left on the dining room table.
A single drop of blood marked the screen.
