Chapter 4 - The Trap is Set
"Third-degree chemical irritation and multiple lacerations containing embedded ceramic micro-fragments," Dr. Miller said, his jaw tight as he wrapped Grace’s hands in sterile white bandages. His eyes were dark with fury. "Sarah, this is not an accident. Who did this to her?"
"I know exactly who did it," I said softly, smoothing Grace's hair as she rested under the hospital blanket, finally exhausted into sleep. "I need the medical report fully detailed, photographed, and certified by your office."
"You're calling the police?" Dr. Miller asked.
"Not yet," I replied. "First, I'm going to make sure none of them can ever lie their way out of this."
By 7:00 AM, my phone began vibrating against the nightstand. It was the family group chat.
*Lauren: Morning everyone! Just wanted to give Sarah a heads up. Grace threw an absolute temper tantrum yesterday while you were gone, Sarah. She deliberately smashed Mom's vintage serving dish and broke her own glasses out of spite. I tried to teach her some responsibility by having her tidy up her mess, but she was completely uncooperative. You really need to get her behavior under control.*
*Eleanor: I agree with Lauren. We were shocked by her disrespect, Sarah. Richard and I were exhausted dealing with her. She needs real discipline, not the gentle parenting nonsense you do.*
*Richard: That plate was expensive. Sarah, you owe your sister an apology for putting her through that stress.*
Looking at the messages, a cold, bitter smile touched my face. They had walked right into it. They had just put their presence, their timeline, and their bogus cover story in writing.
I typed back with deliberate restraint:
*Sarah: I see. So Grace broke the plate on purpose, and you had her clean it up? Both of you saw this, Mom and Dad?*
*Lauren: Yes! We were all right there. She made a scene and pretended to hurt her hands just to get out of doing a simple chore. Typical brat behavior.*
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*Eleanor: We witnessed the whole thing, Sarah. Don't make excuses for her.*
I took screenshots of every single message, saving the metadata and timestamps alongside the video files. They had dug their own graves with their own thumbs, completely unaware that the executioner was already holding the shovel.
