The police searched Daniel’s house.

They found medication Emily had never been prescribed.

They found forged medical records.

They found financial documents.

And then they found a hidden room.

Inside was a computer.

On it were folders labeled with dates.

Each folder contained photographs of Emily.

Some showed her sleeping.

Others showed her bruised.

There were recordings of arguments.

And there was a file titled:

FINAL MEDICAL REPORT.

The police opened it.

It had been prepared before Emily even entered the emergency room.

The report claimed she suffered from a severe psychological disorder and had repeatedly injured herself.

But the date on the document was three days earlier.

Daniel had planned for her death.

He had already written the explanation.

But he made one mistake.

He hadn’t expected her to survive.

When detectives confronted him, he denied everything.

Then they showed him the hospital footage.

His face changed.

The cameras had captured him trying to prevent me from removing the cast.

They had captured his panic.

His words.

His behavior.

And they had captured something else.

A nurse had accidentally recorded his conversation outside the trauma room.

“You can’t let her talk.”

Daniel’s voice.

Clear as day.

Then another voice answered.

Mary.

His mother.

“Don’t worry. She won’t.”

Part 6 — The Mother

See more on the next page