My hands started shaking.
I grabbed the edge of the table to keep from losing my balance.
The judge nodded towards the judge.
“Bring the device.”
Harper slowly walked toward the front of the courtroom.
She held the tablet in both hands as if it were something precious.
Something heavy.
The clerk connected him to a monitor in the courtroom.
My heart was pounding in my ears.
The screen flickered.
Then the video show began.
Video
The first image that appeared made the entire room freeze.
Because the man on screen was Caleb .
The recording appeared to be made in secret.
Caleb was standing in our living room late at night.
He didn’t know the camera was on.
His voice sounded different.
Anxiously.
Rude.
Bad.
Desperate.
“You will say exactly what I told you,” he said sharply.
The camera angle has changed slightly.
And suddenly Harper’s quiet voice could be heard.
“But dad… that’s not true.”
Caleb’s face hardened.
“You want to live with me, right?” he said.
“Not…”
“Then tell the judge that mom screams all the time.”
Harper sniffed.
“But that’s not what happens.”
Caleb’s voice grew colder.
“If you don’t help me, you may never see me again.”
Silence
There was complete silence in the courtroom.
Nobody moved.
No one spoke.
Harper’s soft voice whispered on the screen:
Okay, dad.
The movie is over.
The truth revealed
As the screen went blank, the judge slowly removed his glasses.
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