Chapter 8 - The First Report
Marcus Hill returned the following afternoon.
He was not alone.
A police detective named Ava Reyes accompanied him.
Emily’s stomach dropped when she saw the badge.
“Am I being arrested?”
“No,” Reyes said immediately.
She was in her early forties, compact, direct and visibly tired.
“We’re investigating the suspected injury and evidence concealment.”
Emily let them inside.
Daniel joined them in the living room.
Detective Reyes asked about the cosmetic sponge, the missing camera footage and Rachel’s access.
Then Marcus opened a folder.
“There’s something you need to know.”
Emily braced herself.
“This is not the first report concerning Sophie.”
Silence.
Daniel frowned.
“What are you talking about?”
Marcus removed two documents.
“An anonymous report was made five weeks ago.”
Emily stared.
“No one contacted us.”
“It was screened out because the allegations were vague and there was no injury.”
“What allegations?”
“That Emily screamed at the baby for long periods and frequently left her unattended.”
“That’s ridiculous.”
Daniel leaned forward.
“Who reported it?”
“Anonymous.”
Marcus continued.
“A second report was made eleven days ago.”
Emily’s mouth went dry.
“What did that one say?”
“That Emily appeared emotionally unstable and had been seen handling Sophie roughly.”
Emily felt the room tilt.
“Rachel.”
Marcus did not confirm it.
Reyes asked, “Did anyone know you were having difficulty sleeping?”
“Everyone with a baby knows that.”
“Did you ever discuss feeling overwhelmed?”
“With my husband. With my sister.”
Daniel looked at Emily.
She understood.
Rachel had been collecting ordinary motherhood and turning it into evidence.
Every exhausted confession.
Every frustrated text.
Every joke about needing coffee.
Emily stood.
“I want to see the reports.”
Marcus shook his head.
“Not yet.”
“Why?”
“Because they’re part of the investigation.”
“They’re about me.”
“I understand.”
“No, you don’t.”
Daniel touched her arm.
Emily pulled away.
“I told Rachel everything.”
Her voice broke.
“When Sophie was three weeks old and I cried because I thought I wasn’t producing enough milk, I called Rachel.”
She looked at Daniel.
“When I told you I was afraid something was wrong with me because I couldn’t sleep even when Sophie slept—Rachel knew.”
Daniel nodded slowly.
Emily looked at Marcus.
“She’s using things I trusted her with.”
Marcus said, “That’s one possibility.”
“One?”
“We still investigate facts, not theories.”
Detective Reyes leaned forward.
“Mrs. Carter, when people build false narratives, they often make mistakes because they cannot control every source of information.”
Emily stared at her.
“What mistake did Rachel make?”
Reyes did not smile.
“We’re working on that.”
She asked to see the nursery.
Upstairs, she examined the camera outlet.
Then the changing table.
Then the hallway.
“Any other cameras?”
“Doorbell camera.”
“Interior?”
“No.”
“What about neighboring homes?”
Emily thought.
The Morrisons across the street had a security camera pointed toward their driveway.
It might catch part of Emily’s front walkway.
Daniel called Mr. Morrison.
Twenty minutes later, they were standing in his living room watching footage from the previous afternoon.
At 12:42 p.m., Rachel left Emily’s house.
She carried her purse.
No scarf.
She got into her silver SUV and drove away.
At 1:16 p.m., the SUV returned.
Rachel parked farther down the block.
She walked back toward Emily’s house.
At 1:25 p.m., she emerged.
This time, she carried something small in one hand.
Emily leaned closer.
“What is that?”
The image was distant.
Detective Reyes paused the video.
Rachel appeared to be holding a rectangular black object.
Maybe a phone.
Maybe a cosmetic case.
Maybe nothing important.
But what mattered was clear.
Rachel had returned.
And deliberately parked away from the house.
Daniel whispered, “She didn’t come back for a scarf.”
Reyes copied the footage.
Back at Emily’s house, her phone buzzed.
A message from Rachel.
You need to stop telling people I’m involved. My lawyer says your accusations are becoming harassment.
Emily showed Detective Reyes.
Reyes read it.
“Don’t answer.”
“I wasn’t planning to.”
Another message arrived.
You’re making this worse for yourself.
Emily stared.
Then a third.
Think about what a judge will see.
Detective Reyes lifted her eyes.
“Still don’t answer.”
For the first time since the hospital, Emily smiled.
Not because anything was funny.
Because Rachel had made another mistake.
May you like
She was not speaking like a worried sister anymore.
She was speaking like someone already thinking about court.
