Chapter 6 - The Unraveling of Elaine
Deprived of Corbin’s income and facing total social exile in Cedar Falls, Elaine Mercer tried to launch a public relations war against my family.
She went to our local church, crying to the pastor and the ladies' auxiliary group, claiming that "that cold-hearted Colonel and his daughter" had turned her family out into the cold on Christmas Day.
On Sunday morning, Dad and I walked into the church foyer, carrying Wren in a warm winter coat.
Elaine was standing in the middle of the lobby, surrounded by several church members. The moment she saw us, she pointed a shaking finger at my father.
"There he is!" Elaine wailed loudly. "The man who destroyed my family! He used corrupt lawyers to steal my son's house on Christmas Eve!"
The lobby fell dead silent.
My father didn't raise his voice. He didn't look angry. He simply reached into his coat pocket, pulled out a small thumb drive, and handed it to Pastor Thomas.
"Pastor," Dad said clearly, his voice carrying across the quiet foyer. "On that drive is the exterior security footage from my daughter's house on Christmas Eve. It shows Mrs. Mercer personally tossing my daughter's bags into the snowstorm while my twenty-month-old granddaughter was shivering in a thin blanket. It also contains the official audio recording of Mrs. Mercer telling Laura to 'go freeze in a ditch.'"
The church members surrounding Elaine gasped, slowly stepping away from her as if she carried a contagious disease.
Elaine’s face turned from red to chalk white. "You... you had security cameras?"
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"I installed four thermal-imaging cameras around Laura's house the day Corbin moved in," Dad replied coldly. "I monitor everything that threatens my family, Elaine. You should have checked the eaves before you showed your true nature."
Pastor Thomas looked at Elaine with profound disappointment. "Elaine, I think you should leave the sanctuary today."
