Chapter 9 - The Bystander's Cracks
|
"What about my father?" I asked, leaning forward. "Did he say anything?"
Detective Morales took a seat across from me, opening her notepad.
"Your father initially tried to play dumb," Morales explained. "He told my partner that everything happened 'too quickly' and that he was facing the sink when the pan fell."
"He was lying," I said flatly.
"We knew he was," Morales agreed. "So we played him the recorded audio of your mother's text messages, and we showed him the forensic photos of Emma's facial burns."
Morales paused, taking a breath.
"Your father broke down," she continued. "He admitted that Vanessa was furious before you even came downstairs. He confessed that your mother told Vanessa, 'If Rachel won't teach that girl manners, you need to do it yourself.'"
I closed my eyes, a fresh wave of agony washing over me. My own mother had practically handed her the weapon.
"And then what?" I asked.
"Your father admitted he saw Vanessa pick up the heavy skillet off the burner," Morales said. "He saw her swing it directly at your daughter's head."
"And he just stood there?" I whispered, my voice breaking. "He didn't try to stop her?"
"He said he froze," Morales replied quietly. "He said he was terrified of making your mother and sister angry."
I stared at the white hospital wall. All my life, my father had been a silent bystander to my mother's emotional tyranny. He had spent thirty years freezing whenever my mother raised her voice.
May you like
He had chosen quiet compliance over protecting his own granddaughter.
"Vanessa is being taken into custody right now," Detective Morales announced firmly. "Charge is felony child abuse and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon."
