For years, my stepfather kept my twin sister and me living in constant fear, as though our suffering was the only thing that satisfied him. One night, after beating us until we both lost consciousness, he carried us into the emergency room while my mother quietly told the doctors, “They just fell down the stairs.”

Recording Eighty-Seven had been captured only hours before we arrived at the hospital.

It began with Edric ordering Chloe and me to stand against the wall. Chloe was crying while I refused to answer him. Then my mother’s voice came through the speakers with chilling clarity.

“Hit the quieter one first. Faye watches too much.”

Detective Martin immediately stopped the recording.

No one spoke.

Dr. Cooper slowly let out a long breath.

“My God.”

I looked toward the detective before speaking again.

“There are documents too.”

“What documents?”

“Open the folder marked Office.”

She clicked the folder and found dozens of photographs I had secretly taken inside Edric’s home office whenever he left for work. Every file had been organized by date and showed forged psychiatric evaluations, guardianship paperwork, financial statements, and trust documents.

“What is this?” Detective Martin asked as she enlarged one file.

“Our trust,” I answered. “My father left everything to Chloe and me.”