Chapter 3 - The Digital Ghost
Bail was set at a staggering $250,000. My parents drained their retirement savings and put a lien on the store to secure the bond. When I walked out of the county jail forty-eight hours later, the glaring Arizona sun blinded me. My father wrapped me in a tight hug, his hands trembling.
"We believe you, Annie," he whispered. "We'll fight this."
I didn't waste a second. The moment we arrived at my childhood home in Mesa, I locked myself in my old bedroom and fired up my laptop. My hands shook so violently I mistyped my password three times.
Come on, come on, come on.
I accessed the cloud portal. The screen loaded, spinning a frustratingly slow blue circle. Then, the dashboard appeared.
There it was. A folder labeled Dining_Room_Cam.
I clicked on the timestamp from the day of the lunch. The video buffered, and then the crystal-clear, high-definition image of the Harrington dining room filled my screen. I watched myself walk into the frame, carrying the soup. I watched Brooklyn perfectly time her shoulder check. I watched the soup spill.
And then, I watched Callan. The man I had sworn to love and cherish. I watched his face twist in rage. I watched his hand connect with my cheek with such force that my head snapped back.
Tears streamed down my face, but they weren't tears of sorrow. They were tears of pure, vindicating relief.
But as I reached for the mouse to download the file, I noticed the audio bar moving at the bottom of the screen. The camera hadn't just recorded the incident. It had been recording all morning.
I scrolled the timestamp back two hours, before I had even arrived at the house. Melissa and Brooklyn were sitting at the table, sipping mimosas. I cranked the volume up.
"She's a peasant, Brooklyn," Melissa's voice crackled through the speakers, laced with venom. "We just have to push her until she breaks. Callan is already tired of her whining. If we humiliate her enough today, he'll agree to the annulment by the end of the week."
"I'll trip her," Brooklyn giggled. "Or ruin that cheap dress she bought. It's so easy."
"Make it hurt," Melissa said coldly. "I want her gone."
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I sat back in my chair, the air knocked out of my lungs. It wasn't just a spontaneous fight. It was a premeditated assassination of my character and my marriage. They had planned to break me.
Instead, they gave me the exact weapon I needed to destroy them.
