Chapter 6 - The Search and The Shock
"911, what is your emergency?" the dispatcher answered.
"My three-year-old son is having a severe asthma attack, his lips are blue, we need paramedics immediately," Ryan said rapidly. He glanced at Evelyn. "And send the police. There has been an assault."
Evelyn’s face finally lost its arrogant color. She grabbed her designer handbag and took a step toward the door. "This is ridiculous. I am going to call my lawyer."
Ryan moved lightning-fast, slamming his hand against the doorframe, physically blocking her exit. "No." His eyes hardened into dark stone. "You’re staying right here until the police hear exactly what happened."
Minutes later, the wail of sirens cut through the noise of the thunderstorm. Paramedics stormed into the nursery, pushing past Evelyn.
They immediately took Oliver from Maya’s shaking arms, placing a tiny oxygen mask over his face. They rushed to stabilize his breathing, administering emergency medication through a nebulizer.
Maya clung to Ryan’s sleeve, burying her bloody face in his chest while an EMT examined the massive swelling across her cheek. "He's going to be okay, ma'am, his oxygen levels are coming back up," the paramedic assured her.
Maya let out a guttural sob of relief. Then she pulled Ryan down to her level and whispered something that made his stomach turn to ice.
"She hid something in the room, Ryan. She's been recording me."
"What?" Ryan breathed.
"She told me that if I refused to sign her papers, she would prove I was dangerous. Look in the closet."
Two police officers had already entered the room, taking statements. Ryan marched over to the lead officer. "My wife says my mother planted a hidden camera in this room. Please search it."
Evelyn scoffed loudly. "The woman is clearly hallucinating!"
The officer walked over to the open closet. He pushed aside a row of tiny winter coats. And there, sitting perfectly on the top shelf, was a tiny black camera aimed directly at the crib and the changing table.
The officer carefully pulled it down, holding it up by the strap. Evelyn’s face went bone-white.
Ryan stared at the device, a wave of profound nausea washing over him. "You were recording my family?" he whispered, horrified.
Evelyn said nothing. For once in her miserable life, the woman who always had an answer had suddenly misplaced her vocabulary. 👀
But the camera was only the beginning of the nightmare.
"Officer, check the dresser," Maya said, her voice growing stronger.
Beneath the nursery wardrobe, officers discovered a heavy bottom drawer that had been locked with a padlock. Ryan retrieved his tools and smashed the lock open. Inside was a carefully organized, thick manila folder.
The officer opened it, laying the contents out on the bed. Medical authorization forms with forged signatures. Emergency guardianship papers naming Evelyn as the sole provider. Custody petitions citing severe mental instability. Printed photographs of Maya crying from weeks ago, taken out of context.
A list of dangerous psychotropic medications that Maya had never even been prescribed. And a written statement, completely typed and prepared, for Evelyn to hand to the police.
Every single page told the same meticulously crafted lie. Maya was unstable. Maya was violent. Maya was a deadly danger to her own child. And Evelyn was the loving, heroic grandmother prepared to "rescue" Oliver.
Ryan’s hands began to violently shake as he read the legal documents. His mother had not come upstairs because she heard Oliver coughing. She had not entered the nursery to help Maya.
May you like
She had come with a briefcase of legal papers. A hidden camera. A rehearsed script. And a calculated plan to provoke Maya until she finally broke.
"You evil witch," Ryan whispered, looking at the woman who gave him life.
