Chapter 10 - The Recording
I thought the recording would end the nightmare.
Instead, it opened another door.
Ryan's attorney argued that the voice on the file had not been authenticated and that the conversation was being taken out of context.
Kate's attorney separately claimed she had been frightened and confused.
Meanwhile, Ryan continued telling relatives that the county was persecuting an innocent family.
People who had never visited my apartment posted that I had always been jealous of Kate.
I stopped reading the comments after someone suggested I had invented the makeup.
Rebecca told me to focus on what could be established under oath.
That advice grew harder when Kate asked to meet.
Her message said she wanted to explain why she'd said those things.
Rebecca arranged the conversation through Kate's attorney at a neutral office, with both lawyers present.
When Kate walked in, she looked older than she had a week earlier.
Her hands shook around a paper cup of water.
"I never wanted Paige hurt," she said.
"Then why didn't you take her to a doctor Friday?" I asked.
Kate looked down.
"Ryan said it was nothing."
"And the makeup?"
"He said they'd think we were bad parents."
"You blamed me."
She started crying.
"He told me you'd forgive me eventually."
I felt as though I had been struck.
"You knew I could be arrested."
Kate did not answer.
I pushed my chair back.
"Why did you tell me I was the one person you trusted to make the call?"
Kate's face changed.
Her tears stopped.
"Because I hoped you would take Paige to the hospital," she whispered.
For a moment, I couldn't understand the sentence.
"You knew she needed help?"
Kate nodded.
"I couldn't make him take her."
"But you could bring her to me and blame me afterward?"
She covered her face.
"I thought I could fix it before anybody got hurt."
The lawyer beside her leaned forward.
"Kate, stop."
She did.
But her final words stayed with me.
"There's something else about Friday night," she whispered.
May you like
"Something Ryan doesn't know I kept."
