“Dad isn’t dead, he’s under the floor,” the little girl said, police started digging…

She was breaking down. I. I thought she just needed someone to talk to. I didn’t know.

I didn’t think. Did she promise you anything? Rose asked directly. Samuel lowered his head.

She said if Julian was gone, she’d sell the house. She needed money to move to Boston with me. Mark slammed his palm on the table.

So she killed him for the house. Then planned to start over with you. Samuel trembled.

I didn’t know it would go that far. I swear. Back at the station, Rose requested a thorough investigation into digital bank accounts especially cryptocurrency transactions.

Nathan uncovered a hidden wallet where Martha had transferred up to $16,000 nearly a week after Julian had been reported missing. Richard lit a cigarette and stepped outside the station. Mark followed him, placing a hand on his shoulder.

Unbelievable, Richard exhaled a stream of smoke. She didn’t kiddle in a fit of rage. She planned it.

A meticulous plan. Not just planned, Mark said slowly. She turned her only child into an unwilling witness.

She didn’t just kill Julian. She stole Anna’s entire childhood. That evening, Carol sat reading the case files with her private attorney Alan Parker, a longtime family friend.

Do you want to pursue full legal custody, he asked. It’s not about wanting. It’s about needing to, Carol replied.

I won’t let my granddaughter be returned to that woman not ever. Alan nodded cautiously. Criminal and civil custody cases are often separate.

But in this case, with the existing evidence, we can coordinate them. You’ll need to testify at the custody hearing. Carol nodded.

I’ll do whatever it takes. For Anna. Three days later, during a closed hearing between the prosecution and the presiding judge, Rose officially requested additional charges.

Coercing a minor to remain silent and manipulating a child’s testimony. Based on the child’s statements, her drawings, and the psychological report from Dr. Lucy Bennett, the defendant threatened her daughter even after committing the crime in order to cover it up, Rose explained. The judge asked, Is the psychological impact on the child evident? Rose replied, This child is four years old, Your Honor.

And yet she has carried a secret that most adults would be terrified to bear. If that isn’t harm, I don’t know what is. Mark added, We also ask the court to consider financial fraud committed post-homicide specifically, actions to illegally appropriate the victim’s estate.

The judge nodded. I approve the additional charges. The case will be tried under the special aggravated category.

A week later, Dr. Lucy brought Anna to a group therapy session. There were four other children in the room, each carrying a different kind of pain—one had lost a father in an accident, another had been abandoned by their mother. Lucy encouraged the kids to draw the place where you feel safest.

Anna drew a picture that included her grandmother, her teddy bear Peepo, and a chair next to a window. But in the bottom right corner, there was still a black figure lying under the floor. Lucy sat beside her.

Who’s that, sweetheart? That’s Daddy, Anna replied. Where is Daddy now? Daddy’s resting. But he told me not to worry.

He said, You did the right thing, Anna. Because of you, I won’t be forgotten. Lucy bit her lip, eyes misting.

She wrote in her treatment journal, No one is born to carry the secret of a death. But Anna with her innocent words, Daddy is under the kitchen floor, opened the door to justice. She is not just a witness.

She is the first light in the darkest room. At the detention center, Martha received devastating news—Samuel Brooks had been charged with concealing information and aiding after the fact even though he hadn’t participated in the murder. She slammed her hand against the wall, screaming, He promised he’d be there for me.

A guard Stella Roberts looked at her coldly. You killed your husband, manipulated your daughter, and now you’re blaming your lover. Martha glared back, her voice low and fierce, I did it because I didn’t want to lose everything.

Stella smirked. And now you’ve lost it all. That afternoon, Martha Grant was summoned for a fourth interrogation.

She wore a thin windbreaker, her eyes more sunken than before, but her expression still carried a trace of defiance. Mark entered first, followed by Rose and Martha’s attorney, Victor Anderson. Martha, Mark began, We’ve confirmed your financial transactions over the three months leading up to Julian’s death.

You borrowed $18,800 from him correct? Yes, Martha answered without hesitation. For my own business. But there’s no company, no license, no registered partner, Rose said icily.

And after Julian disappeared, that money was transferred to an anonymous crypto wallet. I was afraid they’d take it back, Martha whispered. No, Victor interjected.

I advise my client not to answer any further without my approval. Martha glanced at Victor, then gave a bitter laugh. A lawyer can save your life but not your name.

Mark continued calmly, We also discovered frequent communication between Martha and a man Samuel Brooks. An ambiguous relationship, repeated throughout hidden messages. You called him, my runaway angel.

That’s, personal, Martha said, lips trembling. No, Martha, Rose cut in. When your husband gets struck in the head, stuffed into a bag, and buried under the kitchen floor nothing is personal anymore…