Chapter 2
I backed away from Ryan with Lily in my arms and his phone clutched in my hand.
“Emily,” he said carefully. “Give me the phone.”
“No.”
Diane wiped fake tears from her cheeks.
“She is unstable. Look at her. She’s hysterical.”
I laughed once.
It sounded broken.
“My daughter has a red mark on her neck.”
Ryan stepped toward me.
“This looks bad, but you don’t understand.”
“I understand enough.”
I dialed 911 from his phone.
Ryan lunged.
I turned my body so Lily was behind my shoulder and screamed loud enough for the neighbors to hear.
“Stay away from us!”
The operator answered.
I said, “My mother-in-law put a chain around my two-year-old daughter’s neck. My husband recorded it. They were planning to frame me for custody and steal her inheritance.”
Diane’s face emptied.
Ryan whispered, “You just destroyed us.”
“No,” I said. “You did that in high definition.”
The police arrived in minutes because three neighbors had also called.
Mrs. Patel from next door came through the gate with a blanket and wrapped it around Lily while I gave my statement.
Lily would not let go of my neck.
When an officer asked Ryan for his phone, he said I had stolen it.
I pressed play.
His own voice filled the yard.
Once the judge believes Emily can’t control her own daughter, I get custody.
The officer’s expression changed.
Diane tried to leave.
Another officer stopped her.
I watched handcuffs close around the woman who had called herself a grandmother while dragging my child through the grass.
Ryan was not cuffed immediately.
He stood there staring at me like I had betrayed him.
That look almost made me laugh.
Almost.
Then Lily whispered, “No Daddy.”
The officer heard.
So did Ryan.
May you like
His face cracked.
Mine did not.
