Chapter 14 - The Brother Who Knew
I forwarded the message to Rebecca without replying.
Detective Brooks located Marcus and requested an interview.
Marcus initially denied entering Kate's home Friday night.
Then investigators showed him the exterior footage.
He admitted he had gone inside but said he only helped Ryan move a heavy dresser.
That explanation might have passed if the nursery had contained a dresser large enough to require two adults.
It did not.
What the home did contain was a laundry hamper with several freshly washed baby blankets.
Investigators collected relevant items after obtaining legal authority and documented what they found.
No single laundry stain settled the case.
But Marcus's shifting story drew more scrutiny.
Meanwhile, Kate began cooperating more fully with the authorities.
She gave a sworn account in which she admitted that she had concealed Paige's injury and falsely accused me.
She said Ryan had directed her to do both.
She also admitted that fear for herself and fear of losing her daughter had driven her decisions.
I read the summary with my hands clenched.
Her admission relieved one kind of pain and sharpened another.
She had known I was innocent when she watched the investigators question me.
She had known when Mom called me unstable.
She had known when Ryan painted me as a dangerous aunt online.
And she had allowed it to continue.
At a scheduled visit supervised by professionals, Kate saw Paige briefly for the first time since the hospital.
I was not in the room.
Later, Monica told me only that Paige had tolerated the visit and that future contact would be assessed for safety.
I was trying to accept how little I could control when Rebecca called.
"Marcus has asked for a lawyer," she said.
"Does that mean he's going to talk?"
"We don't know."
Then she added something worse.
"Ryan has filed a formal complaint alleging the investigators are withholding evidence that supports him."
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The man whose story kept changing was preparing a counterattack.
