Chapter 8 - The Night Before
Linda's interrupted call changed the direction of the investigation.
Brooks secured her full statement the next day, with counsel present, and Rebecca received a limited update afterward.
Linda confirmed she had visited Kate and Ryan Friday evening.
When she arrived, Paige was crying and Kate was pacing the kitchen.
Ryan told her the baby had twisted awkwardly while he was changing her.
Linda said she noticed swelling and urged them to seek care.
Ryan dismissed the concern.
Kate insisted the hospital would misunderstand.
Then Ryan asked whether the bruise could be covered before a family visit.
Linda had brought a cosmetics kit for an unrelated demonstration.
She admitted she applied concealer to Paige's thigh.
"I thought I was helping Kate," she told investigators.
Her explanation made me furious.
Helping Kate had meant hiding Paige's pain.
But Linda's statement came with an important limit.
She had not witnessed the injury occur.
The medical team also reported findings requiring further investigation, though the exact mechanism and timing were still being assessed.
No one could simply declare Ryan responsible because he was cruel or because Linda was frightened of him.
Rebecca kept reminding me that anger was not proof.
I hated that she was right.
Then a court order temporarily restricted contact between Paige and both parents pending review.
I was relieved until I learned that Kate had named me as the person she feared most.
The agency therefore would not immediately approve me as a placement option.
Paige went to a licensed emergency foster family.
I asked the social worker whether I could send a blanket or a familiar toy.
She said she would check.
At home, I pulled Paige's yellow stuffed rabbit from my sofa, where it had fallen during a visit weeks before.
One ear was slightly bent.
I held it and cried for the first time since Saturday.
That night, Kate sent me a photograph of herself standing outside the hospital.
Under it was a sentence.
You made them take my daughter.
I typed a dozen replies and deleted them all.
Then another message appeared.
Ryan knows what Linda told them.
A final message followed.
May you like
He's coming for you.
