Chapter 5 - WHAT MOM SAID AFTER WE LEFT

Megan's video shook slightly as she lowered her phone toward her lap.

Our faces disappeared from the frame.

The audio stayed clear.

Mom spoke first.

"Lauren, what is wrong with you?"

For half a second, relief flooded me.

Then Lauren said, "Oh, please. Emma is fine."

Mom's answer crushed that relief.

"I told you not to do that in front of James."

I stared at the screen.

James did not move.

On the video, Dad said, "Margaret."

Mom snapped, "What? I'm not defending it. I'm saying she should know better."

Lauren laughed.

"Claire babies that kid. Somebody has to toughen her up."

Then Mom said the sentence I would hear in my head for years.

"Not while James is home."

The recording ended.

I sat at the kitchen table unable to feel my hands.

"Not while James is home," I repeated.

James pulled out the chair beside me.

"Claire."

"That means she knew."

"It means she knew enough to hide something."

I called Mom.

This time, she answered immediately.

"Thank God."

"What did you mean by 'not while James is home'?"

Silence.

Then: "I don't know what you're talking about."

"I have video."

Mom stopped breathing on the other end.

"Megan had her phone recording after we left."

"Claire, listen to me—"

"Did Lauren hit Emma before?"

"No."

Too fast.

"Did she yell at her?"

"Babies cry."

"Did she leave her alone on purpose?"

"Your sister believes in letting children self-soothe."

"Emma was six weeks old."

Mom's voice hardened.

"I am not going to be interrogated by my own daughter at one in the morning."

James reached for my hand.

I pulled in a breath.

"Then I'll make this simple. You will not see Emma until I understand exactly what happened every time Lauren was around her."

Mom gasped.

"You cannot keep my granddaughter from me."

"Watch me."

I hung up.

My knees went weak afterward.

James caught my shoulders.

"You did the right thing."

"Why does it feel horrible?"

"Because doing the right thing doesn't always feel good."

At 2:06 a.m., an email notification appeared.

The sender was Lauren.

The subject line read: YOU WANT THE TRUTH?

Inside was one sentence.

Ask Mom why she begged me not to tell you what happened the day Emma stopped breathing for twenty seconds.

I read it aloud.

James went completely still.

May you like

My Future Mother-in-Law Destroyed My Dead Mother’s Wedding Dress—Then On...

PART 2: https://metro.treeiq.biz/blog/my-future-mother-in-law-destroyed-my-dead-mother-s-wedding-dress-then-one-whisper-at-the-alt...

My Husband Let Our Daughter Die Over a Spending Limit—Then I Called the...

I left the hospital carrying my daughter’s ashes when my husband finally called from beside his mistress and said coldly, “The bil...

My Nephew Wouldn’t Let Them Close His Mother’s Casket—Then a Phone Hidde...

PART 2:https://metro.treeiq.biz/blog/my-nephew-wouldn-t-let-them-close-his-mother-s-casket-then-a-phone-hidden-in-her-dress-expose...

"What day?" he asked.

I had no answer.