Chapter 14 - DANIEL’S FOLDERDaniel kept digital records for eleven months.
Not because he was planning a criminal case.
Because he no longer trusted himself.
He told Detective Cole:
“Every time Bethany apologized, I thought maybe I exaggerated what happened.”
So he started recording notes.
Dates.
Arguments.
Photos.
Messages.
One audio file captured Bethany screaming at Caleb over spilled cereal.
No hitting audible.
Another captured Mom telling Daniel:
“You cannot make one bad night into her identity.”
Another:
Dad saying:
“Caleb needs both parents. Think before you blow up his life.”
A photograph showed a broken bedroom lamp.
Bethany claimed she threw it at the wall.
Daniel said it happened during an argument with him, not Caleb.
The records did not prove constant child abuse.
That was important.
Bethany was not a monster every hour.
She helped Caleb with school.
Took him to museums.
Made elaborate lunches.
Slept beside him when he had pneumonia.
Loved him.
She also became physically aggressive when she felt disrespected or embarrassed.
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Both things could be true.
The family had used the first truth to excuse the second.
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