Daniel moved so quickly that his chair crashed backward.
He lunged toward the laptop.
The security guard caught him before he reached it and forced his arms behind his back.
Detective Chen paused the recording.
“Sit down,” she ordered.
“This is illegal,” Daniel shouted.
“You cannot record people without permission.”
“Your niece activated a toy in her own home,” Detective Chen said.
“Whether every portion is admissible will be decided later.
Right now, it gives us probable cause to secure the property and prevent destruction of evidence.”
She turned to the patrol officer.
“Call the team at the house.
Nobody enters until the warrant is signed.”
Evelyn pressed a hand to her chest.
“That recording proves nothing.
I was cleaning.
Clara must have spilled something.”
Dr.Reyes, standing near the door, held up the sealed bag containing the doll.
“The stain is not cleaning solution,” he said.
“It is concentrated pesticide mixed with food residue.”
For the first time, Evelyn stopped speaking.
Detective Chen resumed the recording.
Clara’s voice was strained.
She told Lily not to touch the bowls.
Evelyn ordered them both to sit at the table.
Daniel accused Clara of turning Michael against his family.
Clara replied that Michael had frozen Evelyn out of their finances once before because she had taken money without asking.
That part was true.
Years earlier, Evelyn had used Michael’s card to pay Daniel’s overdue rent.
Michael had demanded repayment but had accepted her tearful apology.
Clara had warned him that apologies without consequences taught people how much they could steal next time.
He had defended his mother.
Now he heard Evelyn say, “By tomorrow, no one will believe a word you say.”
A bowl scraped across the table.
Clara asked what was in the soup.
Daniel said, “Eat it, or Lily eats alone.”
The next sounds were chaotic.
Lily began coughing.
Clara shouted for water.
A chair overturned.
A glass shattered.
Heavy footsteps moved across the kitchen as Clara tried to reach the door.
