Press Play
Chapter 05 - Press Play
Daniel wanted to stop the recording. Some part of him believed that if he did not hear the next words, they could not become real.
But Emma was sleeping two doors away with oxygen beneath her nose. She deserved more courage than silence.
He pressed play again.
The sounds moved from the guesthouse to the terrace. Emma counted rose petals. Laura told her to stand with both heels at the very edge of the pool.
“I don't like it,” Emma said.
“You trust Mommy, don't you?”
“Yes.”
“Then when I say now, take one step backward. Uncle Mark will catch you. Everyone will think it was an accident, and Daddy will understand that he needs more help taking care of you.”
Mark's voice appeared farther from the microphone. “Make sure the camera sees the empty chair. That's where Daniel was supposed to be sitting.”
Daniel felt the room tilt.
Laura had arranged the anniversary photo station so a security camera would show Daniel's chair empty beside the pool. She had expected Mark to pull Emma out quickly, becoming the heroic uncle while Daniel looked absent and irresponsible.
On the recording, Emma began to cry. Laura whispered something too low to hear. Then she said, “Now.”
There was a splash.
Guests screamed.
For four seconds, no one entered the water.
Emma's recorder captured muffled bubbles beneath the surface.
Then Laura shouted, not in fear but fury: “Mark, get her!”
Mark answered, “Daniel's here!”
The next sound was Daniel diving into the pool.
In the waiting room, Laura covered her face. Mark lunged toward the device, but Daniel shoved him back against the wall.
“You used my daughter,” Daniel said.
“It wasn't supposed to happen like that,” Mark stammered. “I was going to catch her.”
“She could have died.”
Laura began sobbing. “I only wanted you to lose temporary custody. Mark said the water was shallow. He said Emma would be safe.”
Daniel looked at the woman he had loved for twelve years. “You taught our child to step backward into a pool so you could steal her trust.”
The door opened. Two officers stood in the hallway, alerted by the shouting.
Daniel handed them the recorder.
May you like
Behind the glass of Emma's room, the heart monitor continued its steady rhythm.
Everything else in the Mercer family had stopped. Daniel could hear Laura begging the officers not to frighten Emma, as though fear had entered the hospital with them instead of arriving at the pool in her own voice. He did not answer her. For once, silence belonged to him.
