“How convenient, right?” I murmured.
Spencer looked at me with that expression I knew well—the look of someone who knows something is not right, but doesn’t have enough evidence to act.
“The cameras had been broken for three days,” he said. “According to the husband, they were going to call the technician this week.”
“What about the neighbors’ cameras? Street cameras?”
“We are in the process of reviewing them, but the house is in a private residential area. There are no public cameras nearby.”
Of course not. Chelsea had planned this perfectly. Every detail, every move. This wasn’t a fit of anger. It was premeditated.
I turned to Ethan, put my hand over his.
“Look at me, son.”
He slowly looked up. His eyes were full of fear and shame.
“Tell me everything from the beginning. And don’t hide anything from me.”
Ethan swallowed. He looked at Spencer, then at me again.
“I… I was late because I stayed studying at a friend’s house. I have a math test on Monday. I got home at 10:15 p.m. Not that late. But when I opened the door, Chelsea was there in the living room with the lights off. Only the kitchen light was on.”
His voice began to crack, but he continued.
“She said, ‘You’re late, you insolent brat.’ I told her I had texted my dad. She laughed and showed me my dad’s phone. She had it. My dad was asleep. Then she said, ‘Your father doesn’t care about you. Nobody cares about you. You’re an annoyance in this house.’”
Tears started rolling down his cheeks.
“I just wanted to go up to my room, Grandma. I swear to you. But she grabbed my arm and pulled me. I tried to break free, and then she… she took the candlestick from the table and hit me here.”
He pointed to his bandaged eyebrow.
“I felt everything spin. I fell to the floor. And while I was lying there bleeding, she gave herself the bruises by hitting herself against the wall. I saw her, Grandma. I saw her do it.”
“Where was your father?”
“Asleep in his room. She had given him some chamomile tea because he said he was stressed. When he heard the noise and came downstairs, everything was already set up. Chelsea was crying, saying I had attacked her. My dad didn’t even ask me. He just yelled that I was a disgrace and called the police.”
