Chapter 5 - Cracks in the Porcelain
I began my surveillance.
I bought three high-definition, pinhole cameras disguised as USB wall chargers. While Sarah was at her weekly tennis lessons, I installed them. One in the kitchen, one in the living room, and one near the staircase. I synced them to a private, encrypted cloud server that only I could access through my phone.
Living with Sarah now felt like sleeping next to an unexploded shell. Every laugh she shared with me, every dinner she cooked, felt entirely hollow.
The cracks began to show on a Thursday afternoon.
I was supposedly asleep upstairs after a long night shift, but I was awake, watching the live camera feed on my phone.
Downstairs in the kitchen, Emily was trying to pour herself a glass of apple juice. Her hands were shaking. The heavy carton slipped, and a dark, sticky puddle spread across the pristine white marble countertop.
Instantly, Sarah appeared in the frame.
Her face didn't look like the woman I married. It was contorted, dark, veins standing out on her neck. She grabbed Emily by the collar of her shirt, dragging her toward the counter.
“Look at this!” Sarah hissed, her voice a sharp, venomous whisper. “Look what you did! You sloppy, useless little brat. Do you want Michael to see this? Do you want him to throw us out on the street?”
“I’m sorry, Mommy, I’m sorry!” Emily cried, her tiny hands covering her face.
“Clean it up with your bare hands,” Sarah commanded, shoving a rag into her face. “And if I hear one tear, one single whimper, you’ll spend the weekend in the basement. Do you understand me?”
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I sat up in bed, my heart hammering against my ribs. My hand flew to the doorknob. I wanted to run downstairs and throw Sarah through the wall. But I forced myself to stop. I looked at my phone. The recording was crystal clear. The audio was pristine.
Not enough, my logical mind whispered. If she claims it’s a one-time lapse of anger due to stress, a good lawyer can hand her a probation sentence and joint custody. I need the physical threat. I need her to show her true colors to the law.
