Chapter 4 - THE LETTERS LAUREN NEVER WROTE
Rebecca produced the letters through her attorney.
Three.
Supposedly written by Lauren during the last year of her life.
All expressing concern about Michael’s temper.
One said:
If anything happens to me, I want Emily with Rebecca.
Michael stared.
Lauren had never said that.
He and Lauren were separated when she died, but not enemies.
Their divorce had been bitter at first.
Then calmer.
They co-parented.
Lauren knew Michael adored Emily.
Did she secretly fear him?
Mara Lewis did not dismiss the possibility.
Good.
She sent the letters for forensic review.
Paper:
consistent with age.
Ink:
plausible.
Handwriting:
very close.
Then one detail.
Lauren always wrote Emily’s nickname as “Em.”
The letters used “Emmy.”
Rebecca called her Emmy.
Michael never did.
Not proof.
Then metadata from a scanned copy.
One letter had been digitized six months after Lauren died.
On Grant’s home scanner.
Possible if Rebecca found it later.
Then the pool evidence produced a damaged laptop.
Data recovery revealed templates.
Lauren’s signature scanned repeatedly.
Draft letter text.
Different versions.
One included:
Michael grabbed Emily too hard.
Another:
Michael drinks when angry.
Another:
I’m afraid he’ll take her away.
All in Grant’s documents folder.
Now forgery looked likely.
Then the security recorder pieces recovered from the pool yielded partial footage.
Not from Michael’s house.
From Rebecca’s.
Camera timestamps showed Emily arriving six days earlier.
Then one clip:
Rebecca sitting at a dining table with Emily.
The full recovered segment lasted eleven minutes.
Rebecca never screamed.
That made it worse.
She spoke softly.
“Do you want to stay with me?”
Emily:
“No.”
Rebecca smiled.
“You’re upset.”
“I want Dad.”
“He scares you sometimes.”
“No.”
“You told me he yells.”
“He yells when he’s mad.”
“Exactly.”
Emily shook her head.
Rebecca leaned closer.
“Your mom used to be scared too.”
Emily’s face changed.
That was the lever.
Lauren.
Rebecca continued:
“Your mother wanted me to protect you.”
Emily whispered:
“Dad said Mom trusted him.”
Rebecca:
“Your dad says a lot of things.”
Then she slid the paper forward.
“Just read this.”
Emily refused.
Rebecca did not hit her.
She only said:
“Then we’ll try again later.”
Control delivered calmly.
Then one clip:
Rebecca sitting at a dining table with Emily.
Paper in front of her.
Rebecca:
“Say Daddy scares you.”
Emily:
“He doesn’t.”
Rebecca:
“Then you stay here.”
Emily starts crying.
The clip ended.
Michael watched only once.
Then left the room.
Lewis followed.
“You okay?”
“No.”
“You want to stop?”
“No.”
He looked back through the glass at Emily.
“If they were building a custody case, why destroy the footage?”
May you like
Lewis answered:
“Because it shows how they built it.”
