Chapter 5: The Witness Who Never Signed
We returned to Daphne’s house that evening.
Mom insisted on coming, and Mara advised me to keep my phone recording.
Daphne opened the door but blocked the entrance.
“You brought an audience?”
Mom held up the printed witness statement.
“Why is my name on this?”
Daphne barely glanced at it.
“Because you witnessed the transfer.”
“I did no such thing.”
“You probably forgot.”
“I did not forget signing my daughter’s dog away.”
Daphne’s husband, Mark, appeared behind her.
His shirt was wrinkled, and he still held his car keys.
“What transfer?” he asked.
Daphne turned sharply.
“You’re home early.”
“Eli called me crying.
He said you sold his aunt’s dog.”
“I was solving a family problem.”
“You told me Barnaby was staying here for the weekend.”
She pointed at me.
“Because she neglects him.
Someone had to act.”
“Barnaby is almost never alone,” I said.
“That’s not what my evidence shows.”
Daphne pulled out a folder and handed Mark several photographs.
They showed Barnaby inside his crate beside a digital clock.
“You took those inside my apartment,” I said.
“They prove you lock him up.”
“For twenty minutes during a grocery delivery.
The full video has timestamps.”
Her mouth tightened.
“You can edit videos.”
A vehicle stopped outside.
A uniformed animal welfare officer walked toward the house carrying a tablet.
Daphne smiled.
“Perfect timing.”
“You filed a complaint?” Mark asked.
“I reported an unsafe owner.”
The officer introduced herself as Officer Reyes and looked at Barnaby’s documents.
“We have conflicting claims, a transfer form, and a welfare complaint,” she said.
“Until ownership is verified, Barnaby must remain at the licensed rescue center.”
“He belongs with me,” I said.
“I understand, but the microchip record was changed through your account.”
Daphne folded her arms.
“Exactly.”
Mara had kept Barnaby at the center while we confronted Daphne.
Even so, the thought of leaving him there overnight made my chest tighten.
“How long will verification take?”
“Possibly forty-eight hours.”
Daphne stepped closer and lowered her voice.
“By the time this is finished, he won’t know which home is his.”
Mark stared at her.
“What happened to you?”
“She has always resented me,” Daphne said.
“This is how she punishes my children.”
Eli appeared at the top of the stairs.
“That’s not true.”
“Go to your room,” Daphne ordered.
“You told us Barnaby was ours, but then you said the man would take him.”
“Eli, stop.”
“You made me hold the cord because you wanted a picture.”
Officer Reyes looked up.
“What picture?”
Daphne rushed toward the stairs.
“He’s confused.”
Eli backed away from her.
“You said Auntie would look careless if Barnaby was scared.”
Mark moved between them.
“Do not pressure him.”
Daphne’s voice rose.
“Everyone is taking her side!”
Mom placed the witness statement on the hallway table.
“This signature isn’t mine.”
Officer Reyes examined it.
“The transfer cannot be treated as uncontested if the witness denies signing.”
Daphne gave a brittle laugh.
“Then she’s lying to protect her favorite daughter.”
Mom’s eyes filled with tears.
“You know that has never been true.”
Officer Reyes tapped the bottom of the document.
“There’s also a problem with the date,” she said.
“This says Helen signed it last Friday at eleven in the morning.”
“So?”
Mom took her phone from her bag.
“Last Friday at eleven, I was having surgery two hundred miles away.
I have the hospital record.”
Daphne’s face went still.
Officer Reyes turned the tablet toward us.
“And according to this form, the witness didn’t merely sign it.
She uploaded a photograph of her identification.”
Mom stared at the screen.
May you like
“That card expired three years ago,” she said.
“Daphne was the only person who kept a photocopy.”
