Chapter 5 - The Silent Witness
Marcus Thorne’s office overlooked the Charleston harbor, a stark contrast to the dark, ruthless nature of the man himself. He sat behind his massive mahogany desk, meticulously reviewing the banking documents I had dumped before him.
"This is incredibly brazen," Marcus muttered, adjusting his glasses. "She didn't even try to hide the IP addresses. She routed the funds through a shell LLC registered to her maiden name. We have her dead to rights on grand larceny and wire fraud, David. The issue is the assault. Proving she kicked Sarah might be difficult if it's a he-said, she-said scenario, especially with her playing the victim on social media."
I rubbed my temples, exhaustion threatening to pull me under. "She shoved her foot into my pregnant wife's stomach, Marcus. I saw it with my own eyes. Sarah has the bruising."
"And a good defense attorney will say you pushed your mother, she fell, and you're projecting the blame to cover your tracks," Marcus warned gently. "We need something undeniable. A witness."
Then, it hit me like a freight train. The forgotten technology.
"The nanny cams," I blurted out, sitting up straight. "When we found out Sarah was pregnant, I installed a high-end security system. We put hidden, motion-activated cameras in the living room, nursery, and kitchen to monitor the baby and future caretakers. I haven't checked the app in months because the baby isn't here yet, but they record straight to the cloud."
Marcus’s eyes gleamed with predatory excitement. "Pull it up. Now."
My hands shook as I opened the security app on my phone, navigating to the previous day’s date. I filtered by the living room camera. There it was in crystal-clear, high-definition color, complete with audio.
May you like
We watched in silence as the footage played. Eleanor barking orders, eating her lemon tart, hurling verbal abuse. We watched Sarah trembling on her hands and knees. And then, undeniably, we saw Eleanor rear back and violently shove her bare foot into Sarah's stomach. We saw Sarah collapse. We saw me enter the frame and shove Eleanor away.
Marcus leaned back in his chair, a slow, dangerous smile spreading across his face. "David, my friend... we aren't just going to sue your mother. We are going to bury her."
