Chapter 3 - What the Camera SawThe emergency physician told me Lily was suffering from severe cold exposure and exhaustion.
Ava was luckier.
Lucky.
The word sounded obscene.
She had hypothermia too, but she was awake and responsive.
I sat between the two beds while nurses wrapped them in heated blankets.
Daniel had insisted on coming down from his room despite barely being strong enough to walk.
His IV line trailed beside him.
He looked at the girls.
Then at me.
"Tell me everything."
I couldn't.
Not yet.
Officer Harris stood near the doorway.
He held a small tablet.
"We have security footage."
My skin prickled.
"What footage?"
"A gas station camera."
He turned the screen toward me.
The video showed a dark street.
Snow.
Headlights.
Then two tiny figures appeared.
Ava was carrying Lily.
They crossed the edge of the frame.
I covered my mouth.
"How long?"
Officer Harris zoomed in.
"Based on the footage, they left your parents' house around 8:49 p.m."
My eyes closed.
I had left at 8:17.
They had been outside for over half an hour before starting home.
"How far did they walk?"
"Approximately two miles."
Two miles.
An eight-year-old.
Carrying a three-year-old.
In freezing weather.
Daniel grabbed the side rail of the bed.
"Why wasn't someone looking for them?"
Officer Harris looked at me.
"You said their grandparents were supposed to watch them?"
"Yes."
"Did they know the children left?"
I couldn't answer.
Officer Harris continued.
"We spoke to a neighbor."
He showed me another clip.
A woman stood on her porch.
She watched my daughters pass.
She pointed toward the street.
The clip ended.
"What did she say?"
"She heard one of them crying."
I felt sick.
"Did my mother know?"
Officer Harris didn't answer directly.
"We need you to contact your parents."
Daniel looked at me.
"I already did."
My phone was still in my hand.
I called my father.
This time, he answered.
"Elena."
"Did you know the girls left your house?"
Silence.
Then:
"I saw them."
My entire body froze.
"You saw them?"
"They were walking."
"Alone?"
"They seemed fine."
I stared at Daniel.
Daniel's expression changed.
"Where did you think they were going?"
"I assumed they were going back to you."
"You knew it was freezing."
"Elena..."
"Did you open the door?"
"No."
"Did Mom?"
Another silence.
Then my father said:
"Your mother was upset."
I laughed once.
It wasn't funny.
"My daughters were outside."
"I know."
"They were eight and three."
"I know."
"And you watched them leave."
He became defensive.
"It wasn't our responsibility to chase after them."
Daniel's eyes widened.
I felt like I was hearing a stranger.
"How long did you watch?"
"Only for a moment."
"How long?"
"I don't know."
I looked at Ava.
Her eyes were closed.
Her hands trembled under the blanket.
I lowered my voice.
"Did you call me?"
"No."
"Why?"
My father didn't answer.
My mother shouted something in the background.
Then the phone changed hands.
Her voice came through.
"You always make everything dramatic."
I almost dropped the phone.
"My daughter nearly froze to death."
"They weren't supposed to be our responsibility."
"You watched them walk away."
"We didn't know they'd get lost."
"You knew they didn't know the area."
"They've been there before."
"They have never walked home from your house alone."
My mother laughed softly.
"Elena, stop acting like we abandoned them."
I stared at the hospital wall.
"What do you call it?"
"Boundaries."
Daniel turned away.
His jaw clenched.
My mother continued.
"You've been using us for years. Christmas. Emergencies. Babysitting."
"Mom."
"You're always expecting us to fix your problems."
"My children are not problems."
"No. But you treat them like our responsibility."
Ava opened her eyes.
She was watching me.
I ended the call.
I walked into the hallway.
Daniel followed.
"Call a lawyer."
I looked at him.
"For what?"
"Because they knew."
"How do you know?"
"Because your father said he saw them."
"He could argue he didn't understand the danger."
Daniel shook his head.
"Maybe."
He looked toward the nurses' station.
"But there's something else."
"What?"
He pointed at Officer Harris.
"He said there was another piece of footage."
Officer Harris nodded.
"We found one more camera."
"Where?"
"Your parents' driveway."
My heart started pounding.
"Then show me."
May you like
He hesitated.
"There's something on it I think you should see."
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