"Stay Out of This, Old Man!" — They Didn't Know the Poor Mechanic Owned Everything They Had / Chapter 5 / 20

Chapter 5 - The Hidden WitnessThe room fell into an uncomfortable, suffocating silence. Roger’s eyes darted frantically from the medical photos to his son.

Suddenly, the phone on the center of the table vibrated. It was a direct call from the hospital. I pressed speakerphone.

"Dad?" Arianne’s weak voice echoed through the boardroom speakers.

"I'm here, sweetie," I said gently. "You're safe."

"Dad... please don't let Derek near Gideon," she sobbed softly.

My blood ran cold. Gideon was my four-year-old grandson. "Why, Arianne? Where is Gideon?"

There was a pause over the line. "Because... Gideon saw everything that night."

Across the table, Derek stood up so violently his heavy leather chair crashed backward onto the floor. "That’s a lie!" he screamed, his face pale and desperate. "She's lying! She's out of her mind!"

Every corporate lawyer in the room leaned forward. Derek’s reaction was far too fast, far too panicked.

I stared straight into his eyes. "What exactly did he see, Derek?"

Before Derek could answer, the double doors of the boardroom swung open. Two senior detectives from the Special Victims Unit walked inside. One of them held a clear, sealed evidence bag containing a small child's blue tablet.

"We recovered this from young Gideon’s bedroom under a court warrant," the lead detective announced.

Derek looked as though he might faint. Bertha took a sharp step backward.

"What's on that device?" Roger asked, his voice trembling for the first time.

The detective looked around the room before turning his gaze toward Derek and Bertha. "A video file recorded automatically by the tablet's front camera on the night Mrs. Vance was injured."

"Delete it!" Bertha suddenly shrieked, dropping her composure entirely. "It’s illegal to use a child's toy as evidence!"

The detective looked at Bertha with cold authority. "The video clearly captures the assault, Mrs. Vance. But your son isn't the only person captured on the recording."

I felt the air grow thin around us as I stood up slowly from my chair. "Who else is on that video?"