“I didn’t come here to be interrogated,” he said.

“I came here to secure my daughter’s future.”

“If you two want to live in the past, that’s fine.”

“But the law is on my side.”

“As her biological father, I have rights.”

Caroline didn’t look intimidated.

She simply picked up her phone and tapped the screen.

The display lit up, showing a voice recording app with a pulsing red wave.

“You can sit back down, Dad,” she said.

“We’re not finished.”

Thomas stared at the phone, his face draining of color.

“Are you recording me?” he asked.

“Yes,” Caroline said.

“Every word.”

“That is illegal,” he said, stepping toward her.

“Not in Virginia,” she replied.

“One-party consent.”

She had researched the law, of course. She never did anything without a plan.

“Delete that,” Thomas said, his voice rising.

He reached out toward the phone.

Before he could touch it, the headlights of a car swept across the living room window.

The bright beams cut through the lace curtains, painting long shadows on the wall.

A car engine cut out in the driveway.

A car door slammed.