“That’s impossible. Mark would never hurt a baby.”
But her voice trembled.
An hour later Mark arrived from the hospital.
He walked in calmly, still wearing his doctor’s coat.
“This must be a misunderstanding,” he said coolly. “As a pediatrician, I would never harm a child.”
Dr. Carter looked directly at him.
“Then how do you explain these injuries?”
Mark used medical terminology to argue that newborn skin bruises easily.
But then the officer played a recording.
Earlier that day Emma had told them something important.
“When I visited Oliver before,” Emma’s voice said softly in the recording, “he was crying. Uncle Mark got mad and squeezed him really hard. Mommy wasn’t looking.”
The room went silent.
Laura’s face turned pale.
Tears streamed down her face.
“I knew something was wrong,” she whispered. “But I didn’t know what to do.”
Mark’s expression twisted for a moment before he tried to recover.
“Laura, you’re confused.”
“No!” she cried. “You hurt me too.”
She rolled up her sleeve, revealing old bruises.
“Ever since Oliver was born you’ve been angry all the time.”
Detective Harris stepped forward.
“Mark Bennett, you are under arrest for child abuse.”