Chapter 15 - The recording nobody expected
The living room had a small indoor security camera.
Mostly for checking the dog when we were away.
I had forgotten it was active.
Michael remembered three weeks after the incident.
The footage did not capture the slap itself.
Wrong angle.
The armchair blocked part of the view.
But audio was clear.
Sarah:
“Tyler, don’t give that to her.”
Tyler:
“It’s mine.”
Sarah:
“She already had lunch.”
Then Olivia fussing.
Sarah:
“No. You don’t take from your brother.”
Tyler:
“I gave it.”
Then a sharp impact.
Olivia crying.
Sarah:
“Stop that screaming.”
Then my footsteps.
Then the exact source confrontation.
The recording mattered because it confirmed Tyler had said he gave Olivia the food before the slap.
Sarah knew.
She hit Olivia anyway.
Her justification changed from:
“She stole.”
to:
“She defied me after I said no.”
May you like
That was more honest.
Not better.
