Chapter 13: The Doorbell Camera
I called Rachel before anyone could stop me.
She answered on the first ring.
“Emma?””
Her voice was barely above a whisper.
“Where are you?””
“Upstairs.””
“Are your parents home?””
“My mom is.””
“Is Madison inside?””
“No.””
A pounding sound exploded through the phone.
Three hard knocks.
Rachel gasped.
“That's her.””
Dad was already speaking to one of the investigators.
Rachel Bennett—the attorney, not my classmate—pointed at my phone.
“Put her on speaker.””
I did.
“Rachel,” the attorney said calmly, “do not open that door. Police are being contacted.””
Student Rachel whispered, “Okay.””
Then Madison's voice came through the phone.
Muffled by the front door.
“Rachel!””
BANG. BANG. BANG.
“I know you're in there!””
My stomach twisted.
“She's lost it,” I whispered.
Attorney Rachel shook her head.
“No. She's desperate. That's different.””
Madison shouted again.
“Delete the video!””
Another voice appeared in the background.
Rachel's mother.
“Get off my property!””
“Mrs. Hayes, I just need to talk to her!””
“You can talk through the door.””
“It was private!””
“You came to my house!””
“I need the original file deleted!””
The attorney's eyes narrowed.
“Interesting.””
Dad looked at her.
“What?””
“She just confirmed the original matters.””
I understood.
If Madison only cared about the version already online, deleting Rachel's copy wouldn't help.
Unless the original contained something else.
“Rachel,” I said, “don't delete anything.””
“I won't.””
Madison shouted through the door.
“You don't understand what you're doing!””
Rachel's mother answered.
“I understand you're harassing my daughter.””
“No! Emma is using her!””
My anger surged.
I moved closer to the phone.
“Madison.””
Silence.
Then:
“Emma?””
“You should go home.””
Her voice changed instantly.
“You did this.””
“No.””
“You turned everyone against me!””
“You tore up my test.””
“That stupid test!””
“You told Tyler to stop me.””
“He wasn't supposed to hurt you!””
“You tried to slap me.””
“You embarrassed me!””
There it was.
Again.
Every road led back to the same thing.
Madison believed embarrassment justified punishment.
“You planted files in my account.””
Silence.
Attorney Rachel immediately shook her head, warning me not to continue.
Too late.
Madison whispered, “You can't prove that.””
My skin prickled.
I hadn't asked whether she did it.
I had stated it.
She hadn't denied it.
Dad noticed too.
Attorney Rachel was writing rapidly.
Then Madison said, “Ask your precious little camerawoman what she did in the chemistry lab.””
I looked toward Aaron.
He became still.
“What happened in the lab, Madison?””
“Ask her.””
“I'm asking you.””
“She shouldn't have touched my stuff.””
Rachel's voice suddenly came through.
“I didn't!””
Madison shouted, “LIAR!””
Rachel started crying.
“You poured it on my arm!””
The entire room froze.
My stomach dropped.
“What?”” I whispered.
Rachel's mother shouted from behind the door.
“Police are coming!””
Madison's voice rose.
“She was spying on me!””
“I was cleaning the counter!””
“You took pictures!””
“Because you had Emma's password!””
Every person in the law office stopped breathing.
I stared at my phone.
“What did she say?””
Rachel sobbed.
“I saw Madison logged into your account in the chemistry lab.””
Madison screamed through the door.
“SHUT UP!””
Then something slammed against the entrance.
Rachel screamed.
The call went chaotic.
Her mother shouted.
Madison yelled.
Then I heard another voice.
A man's voice.
“Madison! Get away from the door!””
Richard Carter.
Dad stood.
“He's there too?””
Attorney Rachel was already speaking to investigators.
“Father and daughter are both at the residence.””
On my phone, Richard's voice became clearer.
“Get in the car.””
“But Dad—”
“NOW.””
Then Rachel's mother shouted something I couldn't understand.
A car door slammed.
An engine started.
Rachel came back onto the phone.
“They're leaving.””
“Are you okay?””
“Yes.””
“Your mom?””
“Yes.””
I finally breathed.
Then Rachel said something that changed everything.
“Emma.””
“What?””
“The original video.””
Attorney Rachel leaned toward the phone.
“What about it?””
“I didn't post the whole thing.””
My pulse jumped.
“Why not?””
“Because I started recording before Madison stopped you.””
“How much before?””
“About four minutes.””
I stared at Dad.
“What did you record?””
Rachel hesitated.
“Madison and Tyler talking.””
“About me?””
“Yes.””
“What did they say?””
“I didn't understand it then.””
“Rachel.””
She inhaled.
“Madison told Tyler, ‘If she fights back, my dad says Wallace can finally get rid of her.’”
Nobody moved.
Attorney Rachel's pen stopped.
Rachel continued.
“Tyler asked what happened if you didn't fight.””
My hands went cold.
“What did Madison say?””
Rachel's voice cracked.
“She said they'd keep pushing until you did.””
Dad closed his eyes.
It had been planned.
Maybe not every movement.
Maybe not the exact moment.
But the confrontation wasn't random.
They wanted me angry.
They wanted me physical.
They wanted a disciplinary record.
“Send the original video,” Attorney Rachel said.
“I already did.””
“To who?””
“Everybody.””
I opened social media.
Rachel had posted the full recording.
The first frame showed Madison near the lockers.
Tyler stood beside her.
Then Madison's voice came clearly through the speakers.
*If she fights back, my dad says Wallace can finally get rid of her.*
Tyler laughed.
*And if she doesn't?*
Madison smiled.
*Then we make her.*
Dad looked at me.
For the first time since this began, neither of us needed to say anything.
The truth wasn't hidden in an email anymore.
It wasn't buried in server logs.
It wasn't sitting inside an attorney's office.
It was public.
And millions of people could hear Madison say it herself.
Then Aaron pointed at his laptop.
“You need to see this.””
Another file had appeared inside Richard's archive.
A spreadsheet.
Names.
Dates.
Dollar amounts.
Payments.
One recipient appeared again and again.
*D. Wallace.*
Attorney Rachel stared at the screen.
“These aren't donations to Westbridge.””
Aaron shook his head.
“No.””
Dad asked the question anyway.
“Then what were they?””
May you like
Aaron looked toward me.
“Payments for every problem Richard Carter needed Wallace to make disappear.””
