I looked toward the screen.
Ethan had been fourteen.
He'd watched his mother confront adults he knew.
He'd heard the crash.
And then he'd been forced into silence by one of the people involved.
I covered my face.
For the first time, I understood why my son sometimes woke from nightmares.
Why he refused to walk near the rear staircase.
Why his grades dropped.
And why Vanessa's voice could make him go completely still.
I'd been telling him to respect his stepmother.
All while she was using his fear to keep the truth hidden.
I lowered my hands.
My eyes were wet.
Then I whispered.
“I'm so sorry, Ethan.”
He wasn't in the room.
But I needed to say it.
And soon, I would need to say it to his face.
When I returned to Angela's house, Ethan was sitting at the kitchen table doing homework.
It was an ordinary sight.
A teenager with a laptop, a glass of water, and several notebooks spread across the table.
But I could no longer look at him without imagining that frightened fourteen-year-old boy standing near the upstairs hallway, recording something he didn't know how to stop.
He looked up when I entered.
“Hey, Dad.”
I tried to answer.
My voice wouldn't come.
He studied my face.
Then slowly closed his laptop.
“You saw it.”
I sat beside him.
For several seconds, I couldn't speak.
Finally, I nodded.
“Yes.”
His face crumpled.
He looked down.
For a moment, he seemed to be fighting the urge to run.
Then he whispered.
“I'm sorry.”
I reached for his hand.
“Ethan.”
He shook his head.
“I should've saved it.”
My throat tightened.
“Son, the recording was preserved.”
He looked up sharply.
“What?”
I nodded.
“The investigators found an archived copy.”
For several seconds, he stared.
Then his expression changed.
Disbelief.
Relief.
And fear.
All at once.
“They found it?”
“Yes.”
He covered his mouth.
For a moment, he couldn't speak.
Then tears began running down his face.
“I thought it was gone.”
I moved closer.
He shook his head.
“She made me delete it. She stood there and watched.”
I swallowed.
He continued.
“She told me to clear the deleted folder too.”
His voice broke.
“And I did.”
For a moment, he looked like a child again.