Chapter 8 - What the Tablet Actually SawThe next morning, Evan and Rebecca sat in his office with the tablet placed carefully between them.
Noah had given permission for his father to review the recordings.
But he didn't want to watch them again.
Evan respected that.
Lily was with Maria next door for an hour, coloring at the kitchen table in a familiar, safe environment.
Noah was nearby with her.
For the first time since the incident, Evan could look through the evidence without worrying that his children were listening outside the door.
Rebecca had arranged for the digital files to be preserved in their original form.
“We don't need to decide what every sound means,” she said. “We need to identify what the recordings actually show.”
Evan nodded.
The first few clips were familiar.
Claire's shoes.
The staircase.
Lily's crying.
Nolan discussing the camera.
Then Rebecca opened a longer video dated May 28.
Evan hadn't noticed it during his first review.
The thumbnail was nearly black.
The recording began with the sound of a chair scraping across the floor.
Noah's breathing was audible near the microphone.
Claire stood beside the staircase.
Lily was sitting on the bottom step.
“Get up,” Claire said.
Lily rubbed her eyes.
“Daddy.”
“He's working.”
“Want Daddy.”
Claire leaned down.
“Your father doesn't want to come home to a screaming child.”
Lily began to cry.
Claire straightened.
“Fine. Stand there until you decide to behave.”
Several minutes passed.
The recording was partly obscured.
Claire moved in and out of the frame.
Lily's crying grew louder.
Then the little girl attempted to crawl away.
Claire reached down and caught her by the back of her dress.
Evan gripped the edge of his chair.
“God.”
Rebecca didn't interrupt.
Claire hauled Lily upright.
The toddler stumbled.
She reached for the railing.
Claire grabbed her upper arm.
“You will listen to me.”
Lily cried out.
The camera shook.
Noah's voice came from behind it.
“Please stop.”
Claire turned sharply.
“What did you say?”
“She's scared.”
“Go upstairs.”
Noah didn't move.
Claire approached the camera.
For an instant, her expression filled the screen.
The same wide eyes.
The same clenched jaw.
The same furious face Evan had seen when he came home.
“Your father trusts me,” she said. “Remember that.”
The video ended.
Evan sat motionless.
Rebecca closed the playback window.
Neither spoke for several seconds.
Finally, Evan whispered, “She knew.”
Rebecca looked at him.
“Knew what?”
“That I would believe her.”
His voice cracked.
“She wasn't just hurting Lily when I was gone. She was using my trust to make sure they couldn't stop her.”
Rebecca watched him carefully.
“That's a reasonable concern. But we'll let the investigators evaluate the evidence.”
Evan nodded.
He understood the distinction.
The video showed abuse.
It also showed Claire using Evan's authority to intimidate Noah.
What it didn't establish was why Nolan and Grant had become involved.
Rebecca reviewed the file details.
The recording date matched a day when Evan had attended a regional business conference.
It also matched the date on Nolan's residential transition summary.
May 28.
Evan's stomach tightened.
On the same day Claire was recorded mistreating Lily, Nolan had prepared a document describing the home as unsuitable for the child.
Had those events been connected?
Or was the timing coincidental?
They couldn't answer yet.
Rebecca asked permission to examine the visible documents Evan had discovered in the family filing cabinet.
He showed her the blue folder.
She read several pages and stopped at the attachment listing projected moving expenses.
“Who prepared the property valuation?”
“Nolan.”
“Is he a licensed appraiser?”
“No.”
“Did you commission a formal appraisal?”
“Not that I remember.”
Rebecca pointed to the bottom of the page.
“Then what is this?”
Under the transition reserve was a line Evan had overlooked.
Preliminary purchase indication: $710,000.
Evan frowned.
“That makes no sense.”
“Why?”
“Sarah's family had the property valued four years ago. Even then, it was worth considerably more.”
“How much more?”
“About four hundred thousand dollars.”
Rebecca looked at the document again.
“Who is the proposed purchaser?”
Evan scanned the page.
There was no name.
Only a company reference.
Oak Hollow Holdings LLC.
He had never heard of it.
Rebecca made a note.
“We'll need to identify the company and the terms of any proposed transaction.”
Evan glanced toward the staircase.
He remembered Claire suggesting that selling the home would give Lily a fresh start.
He remembered Nolan calling it a practical decision.
He remembered Grant saying, over dinner, that some properties were more trouble than they were worth.
Now those conversations felt different.
But suspicion wasn't proof.
Rebecca closed the folder.
“We have a strong reason to investigate what happened to the children,” she said. “We also have a separate question about the property paperwork.”
Evan looked at her.
“You think they're connected?”
“I think we need to find out.”
His phone vibrated.
A new email from Nolan.
Evan, Grant is concerned about delays. The buyer's funding window closes soon. Please confirm whether we can proceed with the documents already approved.
Evan showed Rebecca.
She read it carefully.
May you like
Then she asked a question that made his blood run cold.
“Evan, exactly what does Nolan mean by ‘already approved’?”
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