Lucille kept pushing.

“Then why did you put the bracelet in your backpack?”

“I didn't.”

“Did your mommy tell you that as long as you say no, grown-ups can't do anything about it?”

I shoved her phone away.

“Stop filming her.”

Lucille stumbled backward.

“Keith! She hit me!”

Keith caught her arm, and the look in his eyes shifted.

“Nellie, are you done?”

Jane rushed over and pinned my arm down.

“Lucille just went through a divorce. Her health is fragile. You didn't know that?”

I wrenched free.

“The next person who says Rose stole anything, I'm calling the police for defamation.”

Tears streamed down Lucille's face, but her grip on the phone never loosened.

“Go ahead and report me, Nellie. I'll just have to post the truth and let everyone judge for themselves.”

She hit send right in front of me.

A new video appeared in the family group chat.

In it, Rose was crying, saying she didn't do it.

The caption read：The child is still lying, and the mother resorts to violence. This kind of parenting is terrifying.

My vision went black.

“Tell her to delete it.”

Keith said：“Calm down first.”

“Tell her to delete it.”

Lucille sobbed：“I'll delete it. But first, admit you pushed me.”

“I pushed the phone.”

Building security and the police arrived almost at the same time.

The second Lucille saw the officers, she cried harder.

“Officer, I don't want to press charges against my sister-in-law. I just don't want the child to keep being taught the wrong things.”

The officer looked at me.

“Who called this in?”

I held up my phone.

“I did. Someone forced open my front door, filmed my daughter without consent, and distributed a video of a minor.”

The officer turned to Keith.

“Who opened the door?”

The locksmith said quietly：“This gentleman asked me to. He said it was a domestic dispute.”

I said：“He didn't have my permission.”

Keith's composure cracked.

“I'm the child's father.”

The officer said：“Being the father doesn't give you the right to have someone break in.”

Jane cut in：“Officer, the real issue here is that her daughter stole my daughter's gold bracelet.”

The officer asked：“Do you have evidence?”

Gloria jumped in：“Everyone at the birthday dinner saw it. They pulled it right out of Rose's backpack.”

I said：“I want every security camera from that day reviewed. Elevator footage, hallway footage, lobby footage.”

Jane's face changed.

“There are no cameras inside the house.”

“The elevator has cameras. The hallway has cameras. The building entrance has cameras. And then there's every video Lucille shot herself.”

Lucille's grip tightened around her phone.

“My phone is private.”

The officer said：“This involves unauthorized filming of a minor and a property dispute. I'd recommend both parties come down to the station to give statements.”

Keith leaned in, voice low：“Let's just drop this. We don't need to go to the station.”

I ignored him.

Lucille suddenly pulled up a video.

“Officer, this is something I recorded this afternoon. It's not complete, but you can see Rose near my purse.”

On screen, Rose stood by the couch. Lucille's purse sat right beside her.

The angle was deliberate. It looked like Rose was reaching into the bag.

She'd only been picking up her crayons.

Lucille wiped her eyes：“I didn't want to show this. But Nellie keeps forcing my hand.”

Rose whispered：“I was picking up my crayons.”

Lucille's voice turned gentle：“Then where are the crayons?”

Rose froze.

Her crayon box was gone. Lucille had already taken it.

Keith lowered his voice：“Nellie, enough. It's on video.”

I looked at Lucille.

Triumph flickered behind her eyes.

I said：“That video isn't complete.”

Lucille burst into tears.

“You're saying I edited the video again? Nellie, how terrible do you actually think I am?”

Jane cut in, her voice cold：“Officer, since you're already here, make them apologize. Mother and daughter, face to face. My Lucille didn't press charges for the theft. That's more than generous.”

I held Rose tighter.

In my last life, this was exactly how they'd forced her to bow her head.

I looked at the officer.

“Officer, my daughter was wearing a smartwatch that day.”

I continued：“That watch has an automatic recording function. It's been recording since the moment she walked into the birthday dinner.”