Chapter 2: The Seventy-Eight Recordings
The next morning, Jason sat at the kitchen table staring at the recorder like it was a bomb.
The house was completely quiet.
Lily was sleeping upstairs.
For the first time in years, I was grateful for the distance between our bedroom and the kitchen.
Because I didn’t want my daughter hearing another argument.
Jason rubbed his forehead.
“Sarah, explain this.””
I poured coffee into a mug but didn’t drink it.
“You want an explanation?””
“Yes.””
I laughed softly.
Not because anything was funny.
Because I couldn’t believe he was asking me that.
“You were there last night.””
Jason looked away.
“That’s not what I mean.””
“Then what do you mean?””
He tapped the recorder.
“You recorded my family.””
I looked at him.
“No. I recorded what your family did.””
His jaw tightened.
“My mother loves Lily.””
I stared at him for several seconds.
Then I reached into the bag.
I pulled out a small folder.
“I recorded the day she locked Lily in the laundry room because she was crying.””
Jason froze.
“That didn’t happen.””
I opened the folder.
Inside were printed screenshots from a hidden camera.
Diane standing outside the laundry room.
The door closed.
Lily’s tiny hands knocking from inside.
Jason stopped breathing.
“Where did you get this?””
“I installed cameras after the day I came home and found Lily sitting alone in the dark.””
His face changed.
Not completely.
Not enough.
But enough for me to know he had never heard this before.
I pressed play.
Diane’s voice filled the kitchen.
“Maybe if you cry longer, your mother will realize she’s not doing a good job.””
Jason immediately stood up.
“Turn it off.””
I looked at him.
“Why?””
His eyes became angry.
“Because I don’t want to hear this.””
“That’s exactly the problem, Jason.””
I placed the recorder on the table.
“You never wanted to hear anything.””
He walked away from the chair.
“You’re making my mother look like a monster.””
I shook my head.
“No. Your mother did that herself.””
A few minutes later, Diane arrived.
Of course she did.
She walked into our house like nothing had happened.
Like she hadn’t struck a child the night before.
Like she hadn’t been caught.
She carried a shopping bag and smiled.
“I brought Lily a toy.””
I almost couldn’t believe it.
Jason stepped between us.
“Mom.””
Diane looked at him.
“What?””
His voice was different.
Less certain.
“Sarah has recordings.””
Diane’s face tightened.
Then she looked at me.
“You recorded me?””
“I recorded the truth.””
She laughed.
“You are unbelievable.””
She dropped the bag onto the counter.
“You are trying to destroy this family because you can’t handle being corrected.””
I stepped closer.
“You hit my daughter.””
Diane rolled her eyes.
“There you go again.””
Jason looked between us.
“Mom, did you really hit Lily?””
For a moment, Diane said nothing.
Then she sighed.
“It wasn’t like Sarah is making it sound.””
That answer was enough.
Jason looked down.
Diane noticed.
Her voice became sharper.
“You’re not seriously taking her side.””
Nobody answered.
Then Diane pointed at the canvas bag.
“What else is in there?””
I didn’t respond.
She stepped closer.
“Open it.””
“No.””
Her eyes narrowed.
“Why not?””
“Because you already know.””
The color drained from her face.
Jason noticed.
“What does that mean?””
I slowly opened the bag.
Inside were dozens of labeled files.
Dates.
Times.
Short descriptions.
Diane’s behavior.
Jason picked up one.
His hands shook.
“January 14?””
I nodded.
He opened the folder.
His expression changed as he read.
“What happened January 14?””
I looked at Diane.
“That was the day she told me Lily would be easier to raise if I wasn’t around.””
Jason looked up.
Diane immediately stepped forward.
“That is not what I said.””
I reached for the recorder.
“Play it.””
Diane’s face went pale.
Jason pressed the button himself.
And the moment his mother’s voice came through the speaker, his entire expression changed.
Because this time, he couldn’t pretend he didn’t hear it.
But before the recording finished, Diane grabbed the folder from his hands.
May you like
And one sentence slipped out before she realized what she had revealed.
“I thought I deleted that one.””
