Chapter 8 - THE EVIDENCE
Daniel followed her finger, looking up at the high wall above the stairs.
"What is that?" Daniel asked, frowning.
"Check... my... phone," Mara whispered weakly.
Before Celeste could react, red and blue emergency lights began flashing through the frosted glass windows of the front entrance.
The sound of multiple sirens echoed down the long driveway of the estate.
Celeste froze. "Who called the police?!"
Three police cruisers and an advanced life support ambulance pulled up onto the gravel driveway, their tires screeching to a halt.
Heavy boots slammed against the porch steps.
The front doors were pushed open completely, and six uniformed police officers entered the hall, followed immediately by four paramedics carrying emergency medical kits and a stretcher.
At the front of the police squad stood Detective Luis Moreno, holding his badge in his left hand and a manila folder in his right.
"Nobody move," Moreno commanded, his voice echoing authoritatively through the cavernous hall.
Evelyn stepped forward, trying to assume her grand aristocratic posture despite her trembling frame. "Detective, what is the meaning of this intrusion?! This is a private residence!"
"Evelyn Hawthorne, Celeste Hawthorne," Moreno said, ignoring Evelyn completely as he signaled his officers. "Secure the perimeter."
Two paramedics rushed to Mara's side, immediately assessing her vital signs, placing a neck brace on her, and checking the baby's heart rate with a portable Doppler monitor.
"Baby's heart rate is strong and steady, 145 BPM," the lead paramedic called out after a few agonizing seconds.
Daniel let out a loud, weeping laugh of pure relief, pressing his forehead against Mara's hand. "Thank God. Thank God."
"Detective!" Celeste shouted, her voice rising in panic. "My sister-in-law had a tragic fall! She attacked me at the top of the stairs and lost her footing! This is a medical emergency, not a police matter!"
Moreno stepped toward the base of the staircase, looking down at Celeste with cold, unyielding eyes.
"Is that your official statement, Miss Hawthorne?" Moreno asked, pulling a small digital recorder from his pocket. "That Mrs. Mara Hawthorne attacked you at the top of the stairs, and you pushed her back in self-defense?"
"Yes!" Celeste declared proudly, looking at Daniel for support. "Mother saw the whole thing! Ask her!"
Evelyn hesitated for a split second, looking at the police officers standing in her home. "Yes... Mara was very agitated..."
Moreno smiled—a thin, dangerous smile that sent a wave of icy dread through Celeste's stomach.
"That's very interesting, Miss Hawthorne," Moreno said. "Because ten minutes ago, Mrs. Hawthorne placed an emergency open-line call to my personal cell phone. My unit recorded your entire conversation with your mother while Mrs. Hawthorne was lying on this floor."
Celeste went completely pale. "What?"
"We have your audio admission," Moreno continued, stepping closer. "We heard you tell your mother that you didn't mean for her to fall, and then we heard you fabricate the story about her attacking you."
"That's... that's not admissible!" Celeste stammered, stepping back toward her mother. "You wiretapped my home!"
"We didn't wiretap anything," Moreno replied smoothly. "A victim of a crime recorded a call she initiated."
Moreno turned to Daniel, who was still kneeling beside Mara's stretcher as the paramedics prepared to lift her onto a gurney.
May you like
"Mr. Hawthorne," Moreno said gently. "Your wife asked me to retrieve a specific digital file from her cloud account. Would you like to see what happened on that staircase three minutes before I arrived?"
Moreno pulled out a tablet computer, opened an app, and pressed play.
