Shame burned through me.

“I shouldn’t have done it.”

“No, you shouldn’t have.”

She said it without cruelty.

Just truth.

“Your children need calm right now.”

“I know.”

“Then give them calm.”

A police officer arrived twenty minutes later.

Officer Monroe.

He watched the recording.

Then another.

I had found two more clips stored in a cloud backup folder Rachel apparently forgot about.

In one, she forced Ethan to sit alone at the dining table while Lily ate.

In another, she shouted at Lily for spilling milk and locked her bedroom door from the outside.

Officer Monroe took notes.

Then his phone rang.

He stepped into the hallway.

When he returned, his expression was different.

“Mr. Carter?”

“Yes?”

“We have a situation.”

My stomach dropped.

“What?”

“Your wife contacted police about forty minutes ago.”

Angela looked up.

“What did she report?”

Officer Monroe looked at me.

“She says you came home angry, threw a plate at her head, threatened to kill her, and forced her out of the house.”

“I never threatened her.”

“She also says this is not the first incident.”

My mouth went dry.

“That’s a lie.”

“I understand what you’re saying.”

“What does she mean, not the first?”

“She claims you’ve been physically abusive for months.”

Melissa stood.

“That’s ridiculous.”

Officer Monroe held up a hand.

“I’m not making conclusions.”

I stared at him.

“Did she show you pictures?”

“Yes.”

There it was.

The trap Ethan had warned me about.

“She made those bruises herself.”

“Do you have proof?”

“No.”

Officer Monroe nodded slowly.

Then he looked toward the children’s room.

“But we do have video concerning her conduct toward the kids.”

“So what happens?”

“We document everything.”

“And Rachel?”

“We’re locating her now.”

My phone buzzed.

A message from an unknown number.

I opened it.

A photograph appeared.

Rachel.

Her cheek looked red.

There was a dark mark under one eye.

Beneath the picture were six words.

YOU SHOULD HAVE KEPT YOUR MOUTH SHUT.

I showed Officer Monroe.

He photographed the screen.

“Do not respond.”

Another message arrived.

This one was a video.

My finger hovered.

Officer Monroe said, “Play it.”

I did.

Rachel appeared in a dim room.

She was crying.

Her voice trembled perfectly.

“Daniel, please stop.”

I felt sick.

Then the camera angle changed.

The video showed me.

Or rather, part of me.

My arm.

My work shirt.

A voice sounded in the background.

My voice.

“Don’t you ever put your hands on my children again.”

It was from earlier that night.

But the video had been cut.

Edited.

The sound of the plate shattering followed.

Then Rachel screamed.

The clip ended.

Melissa whispered, “She edited it.”

Officer Monroe’s jaw tightened.

“Do you still have the full security recording from tonight?”

I turned toward the tablet.

“I should.”

I opened the camera history.

Scrolled.

Stopped.

Tonight’s recording was gone.

Every second from the time I entered the house until Rachel left had been deleted remotely.

Someone still had access to the system.

Rachel.

Before I could speak, another notification appeared.

SECURITY ACCOUNT PASSWORD CHANGED.

I stared at the screen.

Then Ethan’s voice came quietly from behind us.

“Dad?”

I turned.

He stood in the doorway.

His face was white.

“What is it?”

“She has another camera.”

“Where?”

“In your room.”

The entire room went silent.

Ethan swallowed.

“She told me never to tell you.”

I walked toward him.

“Where is it?”

He pointed weakly toward my phone.

“It doesn’t save to that app.”

“How do you know?”

“Because I saw her watching you.”

A chill traveled down my back.

“When?”

“At night.”

“What was she watching?”

Ethan’s eyes filled with tears.

“You sleeping.”

And suddenly I realized Rachel had not just been hurting my children.