Chapter 3 - The Deposition of Betrayal
Late that afternoon, Dahlia Higgins entered the hospital lobby. She wore dark designer sunglasses and a beige trench coat, trying desperately to blend into the background. She was accompanied by two senior partners from the town’s most expensive law firm—men whose retainers were paid directly by Ellis Higgins’ lumber corporation.
She demanded a private meeting in the hospital consultation room, seeking to force a non-disclosure agreement and a immediate custody modification before the state child protective services could step in.
"You need to be reasonable, Mark," Dahlia said, setting her crocodile-skin handbag on the conference table. Her voice was cool, calculated, devoid of maternal warmth. "Luke and Reid were under a tremendous amount of stress. Anna was being disobedient. It was a domestic discipline matter that got slightly out of hand. My father is prepared to set up a two-million-dollar trust fund for Anna’s recovery, provided you sign this agreement and transfer sole custody back to me."
I didn't speak. I simply pulled out my phone, pressed play, and placed it in the center of the table.
The audio recording of her mother, Cheyenne, boomed through the room: "My sons are protected. My husband owns this town... Luke told me that when you come after him, he’ll finish what he started."
Then, I played the five-second audio clip extracted from Paige’s video: the metallic sound of the curtain rings sliding across the rod, followed by Anna’s muted cry.
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Dahlia’s face drained of all color. Her expensive lawyers looked at each other, instantly recognizing the legal catastrophe unfolding before them. "Where did you get that?" Dahlia stammered, her composure shattering into raw panic. "My father... my father said all the cameras were wiped!"
"Your father doesn't own the truth, Dahlia," I said, leaning forward. "And he can't buy your way out of this."
