Chapter 10 - What the Camera Heard
On the recording, Ava cried while Carol restrained her against the sofa.
Tyler held the swab.
Matt stood nearby looking confused.
“I thought this was an ancestry kit,” he said.
Carol lowered her voice.
“It doesn’t matter whose sample we use. We only need something that says the baby isn’t Tyler’s.”
Matt stepped back.
“That’s fraud.”
Tyler glared at him.
“It’s leverage.”
Carol bounced Ava impatiently.
“Once Harper signs the house over, we’ll tell everyone the lab made an error.”
Matt shook his head.
“What about the baby?”
“She’ll stay with me,” Carol replied. “A child needs a real mother.”
Harper stopped the video.
Silence filled the office.
Carol looked older than she had minutes before.
Ava’s cries from the recording still echoed through the speakers.
Harper walked into the living room and lifted her daughter from the carrier.
Ava immediately pressed her face into Harper’s neck.
Carol stepped toward them.
“I love her.”
Harper moved back.
“Love doesn’t terrorize a baby to gain control of her.”
“I would never hurt her.”
“She was screaming for me, and you used her fear as part of your plan.”
Carol’s mouth trembled.
For the first time, she looked ashamed.
Tyler did not.
He pointed toward the laptop.
“That recording is illegal.”
General Hale replied, “You seem far more concerned about the camera than your daughter’s distress.”
Tyler’s phone vibrated.
A message preview appeared.
BRITTANY: Did she sign? The landlord needs our deposit tonight.
Harper saw it.
May you like
So did General Hale.
👉 Brittany believed Harper had willingly agreed to surrender the house—and she was already on her way to collect the money.
