Chapter 6 - The Digital Secret
I went upstairs to tuck Maya into bed that night.
She was sitting under her blankets, holding a cracked, outdated iPad.
"Where did you find that, sweetheart?" I asked gently.
"It was in Mommy’s old office," she whispered, looking down at the screen.
"Does it still work?" I asked, confused as to why she was hiding it.
"The screen is broken, but the voice recorder app still works," she explained.
She looked up at me with those haunted, ancient eyes.
"Auntie Rebecca always threw away my crayons when she caught me drawing."
"So I started pressing the red button when she was being mean to us."
My heart completely stopped beating in my chest.
"Can I hear it, Maya?" I asked, my hands shaking violently.
She nodded and handed me the heavy tablet.
I pressed play on the most recent audio file.
The sound of my own kitchen echoed through the tiny speakers.
Then came the sharp, unmistakable sound of a physical slap.
Maya’s tiny voice cried out in pain.
Then, Rebecca’s cruel, undeniable voice filled the bedroom.
"Cry all you want, you little brat," Rebecca hissed on the recording.
"Your father doesn't care about you; he only cares about his fancy hospital."
"If you tell him about the money I took, I'll put your brother in the dark room until he starves."
I paused the recording, tears streaming freely down my face.
Maya had completely outsmarted her abuser all by herself.
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"You did it, Maya," I cried, hugging her tightly.
"You saved yourself, and you saved your brother."
