Chapter 2: Fifteen Minutes Later
Chapter 2: Fifteen Minutes Later
Daniel folded his arms as I held the phone to my ear.
"You've officially lost your mind," he sneered.
Vivian laughed even harder.
"The police won't throw us out. This is our family home."
"Our family home."
The words echoed through the apartment like a bad joke.
Less than ten minutes later, three police officers knocked on the front door.
Daniel swung it open with the confidence of a man who believed he owned everything around him.
"Officer," he said with a practiced smile. "My unstable wife is making false accusations because she's emotional."
Vivian nodded dramatically.
"She needs help."
One of the officers turned toward me.
"Ma'am, are you injured?"
I quietly brushed my hair away from my face.
The bright red handprint across my cheek was impossible to miss.
The room fell silent.
Another officer photographed the injury while asking Daniel to step away.
"It was a family disagreement," Daniel said.
"It wasn't intentional."
I unlocked my phone again.
"It was intentional."
I opened a folder labeled Home Security.
"My father installed cameras throughout the apartment years ago."
Daniel's face lost all color.
The video played.
The recording showed everything.
The forgotten salt.
Daniel standing up.
His hand striking my face.
Vivian laughing.
Then her voice, perfectly clear.
"Throw her out. This house belongs to us now."
The officers exchanged glances.
"Sir," one of them said calmly, "please place your hands where I can see them."
Daniel's confidence disappeared.
"You don't understand."
"No," I replied quietly.
"You never understood."
As one officer questioned Daniel, another asked a simple question.
"Who owns this property?"
I opened my cloud storage.
The apartment deed appeared on the screen.
Only one name was listed.
Emily Carter.
Mine.
Daniel stared at the document as though it had been written in another language.
Vivian grabbed the phone.
"This has to be fake!"
The officer gently took it back.
"It has already been verified through the property registry."
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For the first time since I met them...
Neither of them had anything to say.
