Chapter 2
Snow crunched beneath the officers' boots as everyone gathered around my phone.
I opened the security footage.
The timestamp read:
4:17 A.M.
The porch was empty.
Then...
Two tiny figures stumbled into view.
Barefoot.
Wearing pajamas.
Lily could barely walk.
She was holding Mason's hand while he dragged his stuffed rabbit through the snow.
They weren't running.
They were struggling just to stay standing.
The officer frowned.
"How far did they walk?"
I answered quietly.
"Almost a mile."
Another clip began.
Lily collapsed onto my porch.
She didn't knock.
She simply leaned against the door because she no longer had the strength.
Seconds later...
My front door opened.
The camera showed me wrapping both children in blankets before calling 911.
No editing.
No missing footage.
Everything happened exactly as I described.
One officer slowly lowered my phone.
He turned toward Daniel.
"Sir..."
"Why were your children outside alone before dawn?"
Daniel swallowed.
"They..."
"They snuck out."
Lily buried her face against my coat.
"No..."
she whispered.
"You locked us outside."
The words were barely audible.
But everyone heard them.
Paige quickly stepped forward.
"She's confused."
"She's freezing."
"She doesn't know what she's saying."
Mason suddenly looked up.
His voice was tiny.
"But Daddy said we had to stay in the garage until we learned our lesson."
Silence.
Complete silence.
Even the wind seemed to stop.
Daniel looked at his son in disbelief.
"What did you just say?"
Mason flinched.
Instinctively.
Like a child expecting to be punished.
The officers exchanged glances.
One quietly began writing in his notebook.
Daniel's confidence was disappearing faster than the morning frost.
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But the worst evidence...
Still hadn't been shown.
