Chapter 3 - THE PERFECT GRANDMOTHER
Detective Torres led them into a private consultation room.
She placed the evidence bag on the table.
“The inhaler was found behind a false panel in a locked drawer.”
Ryan stared at it.
“Only my mother had the key.”
“We confirmed that.”
Torres opened a notebook.
“We also found a hidden camera mounted inside a stuffed bear.”
Maya looked up sharply.
“What camera?”
“It was facing the crib.”
Ryan felt cold.
“My mother installed a camera in my son’s room?”
“We don’t know who installed it yet.”
“But the device was connected to an encrypted account.”
Maya wrapped her arms around herself.
“She watched us.”
“She watched me change him.”
“She watched me sleep beside him when he was sick.”
Ryan reached for her hand.
Detective Torres continued.
“The camera’s internal storage was removed.”
“However, our digital unit may be able to recover cloud activity.”
“Was anything else found?”
“Yes.”
Torres slid copies of the custody documents across the table.
“These petitions were drafted by attorney Samuel Price.”
Ryan recognized the name.
Price had represented his mother’s company for nearly twenty years.
“He’s her lawyer.”
“He is also listed as a witness to several statements about Maya’s behavior.”
Maya stared at the papers.
“I’ve never met him.”
“That may become important.”
Torres looked directly at Ryan.
“Your mother says Maya attacked her first.”
“She claims she removed Oliver’s inhaler because Maya was trying to give him an unsafe amount of medication.”
“That is insane.”
Ryan’s voice rose.
“She says Maya has been experiencing paranoia.”
“She says Maya believed the camera was speaking to her.”
Maya’s face went pale.
“That’s not true.”
“I know.”
Torres remained calm.
“But she is repeating the claim to everyone.”
“She requested a psychiatric evaluation for Maya.”
Ryan stood.
“She nearly killed my son.”
“And she is still trying to blame my wife?”
Torres closed her notebook.
“People who plan narratives in advance often continue using them after the evidence changes.”
Ryan paced toward the window.
Below them, reporters had begun gathering near the hospital entrance.
A black sedan pulled to the curb.
Evelyn’s attorney stepped out.
Ryan watched him speak to the cameras.
His phone vibrated.
A message from his aunt appeared on the screen.
YOUR MOTHER HAS BEEN ARRESTED BECAUSE OF MAYA.
FIX THIS BEFORE THE FAMILY NAME IS DESTROYED.
Another message arrived.
Then another.
His relatives were already choosing sides.
They had not seen Oliver struggling for air.
They had not seen Maya’s blood on the nursery floor.
They had only heard Evelyn’s version.
The perfect grandmother.
The respected widow.
The generous philanthropist.
The woman who had spent decades ensuring that no one questioned her.
Detective Torres’s phone rang.
She answered quietly.
Her expression changed.
“What do you mean she’s being released?”
Ryan turned around.
Torres listened for several seconds.
Then she ended the call.
“Your mother’s attorney secured an emergency bail hearing.”
“She will be released tonight.”
Maya stepped backward.
“She knows where we live.”
“She will be under a temporary protective order.”
“That has never stopped her before.”
Ryan looked at Maya.
The words struck him harder than anything else that night.
“What do you mean before?”
May you like
Maya lowered her eyes.
“This wasn’t the first time she hurt me.”
