Chapter 3
The school resource officer arrived first.
Then two city officers.
Vanessa changed the moment she saw uniforms.
Her shoulders dropped.
Her voice softened.
She became the injured woman.
“Officer, this is a misunderstanding,” she said. “Mia has behavioral problems.”
I felt my daughter stiffen in my arms.
I looked at the officer.
“Play the video.”
Mr. Alden did.
Again.
This time, the officers watched every second.
Vanessa’s soft voice died in her throat.
One officer looked at Mia.
“Did she hurt your head?”
Mia nodded.
Her hand went to the spot where Vanessa had grabbed her hair.
“I tried not to cry.”
The officer’s face softened.
“You don’t have to try that with me.”
Mia’s eyes filled again.
I wanted to thank him.
I could not speak.
Vanessa’s phone rang.
She looked at the screen and answered before anyone could stop her.
“Daniel,” she cried. “Grace is making a scene at the school.”
My stomach dropped.
Daniel.
My ex-husband.
Mia’s father.
The man who had married Vanessa ten months after our divorce.
The man who kept telling me Vanessa was “strict but loving.”
Vanessa put him on speaker by mistake, or maybe because she wanted an audience.
Daniel’s voice came through.
“What happened?”
“Your daughter attacked me.”
Mia flinched.
I reached for the phone.
Vanessa stepped back.
“She ripped her own dress and blamed me.”
Mr. Alden said, “Mr. Carter, this is Principal Alden. We have security footage showing the opposite.”
Daniel went silent.
Vanessa’s eyes flashed.
“He’s lying.”
The officer held out his hand.
“Ma’am, give me the phone.”
Vanessa refused.
Then Daniel’s voice returned.
“I’m coming.”
The call ended.
Vanessa looked at me with pure hatred.
“You think you won because of one little video?”
I held Mia closer.
“This is not a game.”
Vanessa smiled.
“To you, maybe.”
The officer asked Vanessa to step into the office.
She did.
But as she passed me, she whispered, “Daniel will never choose you.”
I looked at Mia’s torn dress.
May you like
Then at the camera.
“He doesn’t have to choose me,” I whispered back. “He has to choose her.”
