Chapter 14
Vanessa testified.
Against advice, I assume.
She said she was overwhelmed.
Lonely.
Invisible.
She said Maria had taken her place.
She said I trusted Maria more than my own wife.
The prosecutor asked, “Did Maria force you to cut the camera wire?”
Vanessa looked down.
“No.”
“Did Maria force you to open the side gate?”
“No.”
“Did Maria force you to touch the stroller brake?”
Vanessa’s mouth trembled.
“I didn’t mean for him to go in.”
“But you meant for something frightening to happen.”
She said nothing.
The prosecutor read Elise’s message.
Something frightening, not fatal.
Then asked, “Did you understand a baby cannot consent to being used in something frightening?”
Vanessa began crying.
The jury watched.
May you like
So did I.
For the first time, I saw not my wife, not Noah’s mother, but a woman who had turned jealousy into risk and called it pain.
