Chapter 2 – The Truth Hidden in Plain Sight
My hands shook as I pressed play.
Daniel walked Mia toward the daycare entrance, holding her little backpack in one hand and her tiny fingers in the other.
Then a woman stepped out from behind a parked SUV.
I recognized her immediately.
Vanessa.
Daniel's coworker.
The woman he had always insisted was "just a colleague."
She knelt to Mia's height and smiled.
Mia smiled back.
She knew her.
Daniel checked his watch, looked around the parking lot, and spoke with Vanessa for less than a minute before handing Mia's backpack to her.
Then, instead of walking Mia into the daycare himself, he got back into his car and drove away.
The video ended there.
I stared at the screen.
Daniel had never mentioned Vanessa.
He had told me he personally signed Mia in that morning.
That wasn't true.
I quietly got out of bed and took my phone into the hallway.
Ms. Parker answered on the first ring.
"I knew you'd see it," she whispered.
"Why are you sending this now?"
"Our director asked us not to discuss the confusion that morning until the attendance records were reviewed."
She paused.
"But the records don't match what your husband told us."
"What do you mean?"
"Mia wasn't signed in until several minutes after Daniel had already left."
"Vanessa was the adult who brought her inside."
I closed my eyes.
"Was Vanessa authorized to drop Mia off?"
May you like
"No."
"That's why I couldn't stop thinking about it."
