Chapter 3 - The Video Evidence
Daniel’s face drained of color so fast it looked as if he had seen a ghost. "Camera footage? What camera footage? There are no cameras in this apartment!"
I looked up at the lead officer, whose badge read Officer Miller. "Officer, the security system in this penthouse is registered under my name. The primary recording hub is integrated into the central smoke detector above the dining table. It backs up wirelessly to my phone."
With shaking fingers, I unlocked my phone, opened the secure portal app, and handed the device to Officer Miller.
Vivian tried to step in between us. "Officer, this is ridiculous! This is my family's private residence! You have no right to view unauthorized recordings inside my house!"
Officer Miller raised a hand, stopping Vivian in her tracks. "Ma'am, step back immediately. This is an active assault investigation."
The two paramedics knelt beside me, carefully lifting my shirt to inspect the damage. The moment the paramedic saw the severe, dark purple bruising already forming across my ribcage, he shook his head. "She's got severe trauma to the thoracic cage. We need to immobilize her and get her to St. Jude’s Emergency Room right now."
While the paramedics stabilized my torso, Officer Miller hit play on the video recording.
The dining room fell dead quiet except for the clear, crisp audio playing from my phone speaker.
“Listen to her, Daniel. She thinks she makes the rules,” Vivian’s recorded voice cackled loudly.
“You live here because my family allows it. Remember your place,” Daniel’s recorded whisper followed.
Then came the unmistakable, sickening sound of a heavy palm cracking across my face, followed by the violent crash of my body slamming against the table and breaking porcelain.
“Get out of my house, you worthless woman!” Vivian’s recorded laugh roared through the room.
Officer Miller’s face hardened into stone as she watched the entire assault unfold on the high-definition screen. She paused the video, handed the phone to her partner, and turned around slowly to face Daniel.
Daniel was sweating profusely now. "Officer... listen to me. That video doesn't show the full context! She was provoking us all evening! She was refusing to cooperate with family decisions—"
"Sir, put your hands behind your back," Officer Miller commanded coldly, pulling her handcuffs from her utility belt.
"What?!" Vivian shrieked. "You can't arrest my son! Do you know who he is? He's a senior executive at Whitmore & Associates!"
"I don't care if he's the Mayor of New York," Officer Miller replied sharply. "He is under arrest for felony domestic assault, battery, and reckless endangerment."
In a matter of seconds, the metal cuffs clicked tightly around Daniel’s wrists. The man who had been towering over me with absolute arrogance five minutes ago was now being forced down onto his knees on the very floor where I had bled.
"Claire!" Daniel panicked, his voice cracking. "Claire, tell them not to do this! We can fix this! Think about my career! Think about our future!"
"You destroyed our future the moment you laid a hand on me, Daniel," I said through the pain as the paramedics lifted me onto a gurney.
Vivian turned on me like a rabid animal. "You ungrateful brat! You ruined my son's life! Get out! Get out of my house right now! I'm changing the locks tonight!"
I paused on the gurney, looking at Vivian with absolute coldness.
"You can't change the locks, Vivian," I said softly.
Vivian sneered. "And why can't I?"
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"Because you don't own this apartment," I replied. "And neither does your sister."
I turned to Officer Miller. "Officer, in my handbag on the floor, there is a certified copy of the deed for this penthouse. This property belongs solely to me. I am requesting that Vivian Whitmore be formally removed and trespassed from my private property immediately."
