Chapter 10 - MAYA’S PHONEMom did not merely move Maya’s phone.
She kept it out of reach for forty-seven minutes.
Video showed her putting it above the cabinet at 11:09.
At 11:51, Maya dragged a chair toward the cabinet.
Mom moved the chair away.
At 11:56, Maya used Chloe’s tablet.
No one knew this until a cloud record showed an unsent FaceTime attempt to me.
Why unsent?
The tablet had no active cellular plan and the Wi-Fi had disconnected after Mom restarted the router when music streaming failed.
Stupid details.
Normal details.
The camera later showed Maya pointing toward the phone.
Mom shaking her head.
Why?
Mom told police:
“Maya was becoming hysterical and I didn’t want her calling Alex in the middle of his presentation.”
There.
She admitted the purpose.
Control who knew.
Delay intervention until the party ended.
In her mind:
Two hours.
Not dangerous.
Temporary.
Another adult could wait.
That word—temporary—would appear repeatedly.
Temporary key use.
Temporary phone removal.
Temporary chores.
May you like
Temporary punishment for Chloe.
Cruelty often advertises itself as temporary when the person imposing it expects someone else to bear every minute.
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