When he turned to our daughter, he softened his voice. “Niah, Dad will have Grandpa and Grandma watch over you. If Mommy lays a finger on you, I’ll kill her!”
My in-laws had calmed down by then.
“There’s no way a mother would hurt her own child,” Priscilla said.
“Right. Besides, when Sadie gave birth to Niah, it was nearly a life-or-death situation for both of them. Niah’s her heart and soul. It’s impossible!” Harold chimed in.
He went on to speculate, “Maybe those photos and videos are fake. You know, with all the AI manipulation nowadays…”
I nodded through tears, deeply moved by how reasonable my in-laws were.
Our daughter curled up silently in Tyson’s arms, but her eyes challenged me even more fiercely.
Suddenly, like nothing happened, she said, “Mommy, I want you to put on a cartoon for me.”
I numbly opened the animation on my phone and held it up in front of her.
Ever since giving birth six years ago, I’d given up my career to raise her, going out of my way to meet every one of her demands, hoping she’d grow into a kind and understanding child.
But no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t understand how she could suddenly turn into this.