Chapter 16 - THE MESSAGESClaudia’s phone was not magically searched because I wanted it.
Relevant messages emerged through lawful discovery and investigation.
One conversation with Beth two weeks before the haircut:
CLAUDIA:
She screamed that I’m not her mother again.
BETH:
She’s six.
CLAUDIA:
She knows exactly what she’s doing.
BETH:
What happened?
CLAUDIA:
Wouldn’t wear the dress. Wouldn’t let me touch her hair.
BETH:
Then let Jonathan deal with it.
CLAUDIA:
He never deals with anything. He buys her dinosaurs and calls it parenting.
That hurt because part was true.
Then:
CLAUDIA:
Next time she uses her hair to make a scene, she won’t have it to hide behind.
Beth:
What does that mean?
No reply.
A week later:
CLAUDIA:
I swear this child needs one consequence she remembers.
No mention of scissors.
No explicit plan.
May you like
But the idea of memorable humiliation existed before the lawn.
That mattered.
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