Chapter 4 - The Practice VideosThe forensic interview took place two days later at a child advocacy center.
Marissa was not allowed in the interview room.
Neither was Evan.
Neither was Serena.
That was intentional.
A trained interviewer spoke with Hazel while investigators observed through secure video.
Marissa sat in the waiting area with her hands locked together.
Evan arrived alone.
He looked terrible.
“Where’s Serena?”
“At home.”
Marissa stared.
“Why?”
“Her lawyer told her not to come.”
The word lawyer changed the atmosphere.
“She has a lawyer already?”
Evan looked defensive.
“Wouldn’t you?”
“If there were video of me pushing a seven-year-old down an escalator?”
He flinched.
“I haven’t seen it.”
“Why not?”
“Police won’t show me.”
“Serena hasn’t told you what happened?”
“She says Hazel stepped backward into her and she instinctively pushed her away.”
Marissa stared.
“That isn’t what the video shows.”
“You saw it?”
“The detective described it.”
Evan rubbed his face.
“I don’t know what to believe.”
Marissa’s voice went cold.
“Your daughter.”
“I believe Hazel is scared.”
“That isn’t the same thing.”
Before he could answer, Rachel Kim entered.
“We need to talk.”
They were taken into separate rooms at first.
Later, with the interviewer’s approval, investigators shared limited information necessary for Hazel’s protection.
Hazel described what she called “practice videos.”
Serena would sit her in the living room and ask questions while recording on her phone.
“Who forgets your school things?”
Hazel had been taught to answer:
“Mommy.”
“Who makes you late?”
“Mommy.”
“Who yells when she’s angry?”
“Mommy.”
Some statements contained pieces of truth.
Marissa had once forgotten Hazel’s dance bag.
She had been late to school twice during a month when her father was dying.
She had raised her voice during one argument.
Serena turned isolated moments into rehearsed evidence.
Evan looked sick.
“I never knew.”
Marissa turned on him.
“How could you not?”
“I work.”
“So do I.”
“I’m not defending it.”
“You’re explaining yourself.”
Rachel interrupted.
“There’s more.”
Hazel said Serena sometimes made her repeat the same sentence until Serena liked how it sounded.
If Hazel smiled, Serena told her to look sad.
If Hazel forgot wording, Serena restarted the recording.
“What were the videos for?” Evan asked.
Rachel answered carefully.
“Hazel says Serena told her they were ‘for the judge.’”
Evan stood.
“What judge?”
Nobody answered immediately.
Marissa looked at him.
“Did you file something?”
“No.”
“Did you plan to?”
Evan’s face changed.
That was enough.
Marissa stood too.
“What did you do?”
Evan swallowed.
“Serena and I talked to a family-law attorney.”
Marissa felt the floor move beneath her.
“About what?”
“Changing custody.”
Silence.
“You were trying to take Hazel from me?”
“No.”
“That is exactly what changing custody means.”
“Serena thought the schedule was unstable.”
“Serena.”
“She said Hazel needed one primary home.”
“She has one.”
“With you.”
“Yes.”
Evan looked ashamed.
“We were considering asking for primary custody.”
Marissa stared at him.
“How long?”
“Six months.”
Six months.
The videos.
The arguments.
The way Serena kept asking about forgotten school things.
It connected.
“Did you sign anything?”
“No petition was filed.”
“Why not?”
“I wasn’t sure.”
Marissa laughed once.
“Thank God for your indecision.”
Rachel set a folder on the table.
“There is an immediate safety issue.”
Police had requested that Serena have no unsupervised contact with Hazel while the investigation continued.
Evan nodded immediately.
“Fine.”
Marissa stared at him.
“Fine?”
“What do you want me to say?”
“I want you to understand what almost happened.”
His voice broke.
“I do.”
“No. You understand she fell.”
Marissa stepped closer.
“You don’t understand that your wife spent months teaching our daughter how to help you take her away from me.”
Evan’s eyes filled.
“That wasn’t my plan.”
“But you let her build it.”
He looked down.
For the first time, Marissa saw guilt rather than defensiveness.
Rachel’s phone buzzed.
She checked it.
Then looked toward Marissa.
“Detective Ortiz found something during the initial review of Serena’s phone records.”
“What?”
“A series of messages between Serena and the attorney Evan just mentioned.”
Evan frowned.
“I was the client.”
Rachel nodded.
“That’s what makes one message unusual.”
She read it aloud.
If Evan hesitates, how much evidence would I need to pursue an emergency custody filing after an incident?
Marissa went completely still.
“What incident?”
May you like
Rachel looked at her.
“That message was sent three weeks before the mall.”
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