Chapter 8: Caroline’s Panic
Caroline came home that evening looking exhausted. She had spent the day at her mother’s house, probably complaining about how unreasonable Sawyer was being.
When she walked through the door and saw Sawyer sitting at the kitchen table with a serious expression, she immediately became defensive.
“What now?” she asked, dropping her bag on the counter.
Sawyer didn’t waste time.
“I took Gracie to the hospital yesterday. The doctor confirmed her injury was caused by being pushed into something hard. They’ve filed a report with Child Protective Services.”
Caroline’s face went through several emotions in a matter of seconds — shock, anger, and then fear.
“You took her to the hospital without telling me?”
“Yes,” Sawyer replied calmly. “Because our daughter was hurt and you tried to cover it up.”
Caroline crossed her arms.
“She’s exaggerating. Kids are dramatic at that age. I barely touched her.”
Sawyer pulled out his phone and played the video Mrs. Kennedy had recorded.
He didn’t say anything. He just let Caroline watch.
As the video played, Caroline’s face turned completely white. When it ended, she looked like she might be sick.
“Where did you get that?” she whispered.
“From someone who cares more about Gracie’s safety than you do.”
Caroline tried to recover.
“That video doesn’t show everything. She was being difficult. I was just trying to discipline her—”
“Stop,” Sawyer cut her off. “Just stop lying. I’ve already contacted a lawyer. And CPS is investigating. You need to start thinking about what comes next.”
Caroline’s voice rose.
“You’re really going to do this? You’re going to try to take my daughter away from me?”
Sawyer looked at her without any emotion left in his eyes.
“You did that yourself the moment you hurt her and told her to lie about it.”
Caroline’s breathing became faster. She was starting to panic.
“Sawyer, please… We can work this out. I was stressed. I’ve been under a lot of pressure lately. I’ll go to therapy. I’ll do whatever you want. Just don’t take her away from me.”
Sawyer stood up.
“It’s too late for that, Caroline. You should have thought about the consequences before you laid a hand on our daughter.”
He walked past her and headed toward Gracie’s room.
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Behind him, Caroline started crying.
But for the first time, her tears didn’t move him.
