Chapter 3 - The Breaking of the Illusion
Uncle Frank stood up, puffing out his chest. "Arthur! How dare you bring police and lawyers to a family gathering! Beatrice saved Lily's life! She had industrial glue in her hair!"
"It was gum," Beatrice quickly corrected him, her voice trembling slightly. "Industrial gum from the park! I saved her!"
"Is that so?" I pulled out my phone and connected it to the large Bluetooth speaker Beatrice had set up for her party music.
Before anyone could stop me, I hit play.
The joyful chatter of the backyard was instantly replaced by a child's terrified, desperate sobbing. It was Lily.
"Please, Auntie Beatrice, stop! It hurts! I want my daddy! Please don't cut my hair!"
The backyard fell into a suffocating silence.
Then came Beatrice’s voice, amplified, cruel, and dripping with venom: "Hold her hands down, Chloe. Little princesses need to learn they aren't special… You think you're pretty? Princesses turn ugly when their dads are just pathetic losers."
The sound of the clippers buzzing vibrated through the speaker, accompanied by Lily’s hysterical screams.
Our family members looked at each other in sheer horror. Aunt Clara covered her mouth, stepping back from Beatrice. Chloe, Beatrice’s seventeen-year-old daughter who had helped pin Lily down, shrank back into the shadows of the patio, her face turning crimson with shame.
"Where is the gum, Beatrice?" Detective Vance asked, taking a step forward, his handcuffs rattling softly on his belt. "Because what I just heard is a recorded confession of unlawful restraint and physical assault of a minor."
Beatrice’s eyes darted around like a trapped animal. "That's—that's a deepfake! He edited that! He's trying to ruin me because he's jealous of my success!"
"We have the original, unedited metadata from the phone Lily left in your guest room, Ms. Pendelton," Eleanor Sterling said smoothly. "We also have a medical report from the pediatric clinic where I took Lily immediately after. No traces of gum, glue, or any foreign substance were found on her scalp. What was found, however, were minor lacerations and bruising on her wrists from being forcibly held down."
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Beatrice took a step back, her heel catching on the edge of the patio. "You can't do this to me. I live here! This is my home!"
"Not anymore," I said, handing her a folder. "This is an immediate eviction notice, alongside a temporary restraining order protecting Lily and myself from you and your daughter. You have forty-eight hours to pack your bags and get out of my house."
