When he's gone, I check the footage and I got it all, including a very clear picture of his face to prove it's him.
By the time I'm back to the party street, the damage is unfolding. I see a police cruiser and Mrs. Finch is loitering. Derek is strutting up the street like he's fucking king of the block, and I start that way. I know why he came here, and I'm putting an end to this right now.
Derek leads the officers toward Olivia and stops a few feet away as I continue approaching, and I hear what he's saying. "Officers, this is the mother I called about. I drove by to check on my son and noticed the back door was open. And when I looked inside, I saw the house is in deplorable condition—pills scattered everywhere, alcohol on the counters, the child's bedroom destroyed. I'm concerned for my son's safety."
Olivia wraps her arms around Ethan from behind and I see her lip trembling. The accusation probably stings, and if those officers were to go look at that house, they'd see how bad it is. But this recording on my phone will say otherwise. "That's not true," she says, and she sounds like she's almost whimpering. "My house was clean when I left. I cleaned it this morning before the party."
"Ma'am, we received a call about a possible unsafe living situation," the first officer says, keeping his tone neutral. "Would you be willing to let us take a look inside?"
"I—yes, of course, but I don't understand what's happening." She pulls Ethan closer, and he looks up at her with wide, confused eyes. She's doing exactly what Derek wants her to do—fall apart in public so everyone will think she’s unstable.
"Ma'am, we just need to take a look," the second officer says. "It won't take long."
"Olivia," I say, stepping between Derek and the cops. He tries to elbow me out, but I manage to squeeze past without decking him, which I want to do. She turns to me with wild, desperate eyes as I step in and say, "Let them look. It's going to be fine."
"Caleb, my house was clean. I don't know what he's talking about." She's trembling as I put an arm around her, and maybeit's presumptive to think she'd be okay with it considering Derek is standing right there, but with as terrified as she looks, she needs me.
"I know." I turn to the officers and pull my phone from my pocket. "Before you go inside, I need you to watch something."
Derek's face sobers and the color drains from it as quickly as a balloon deflates. The concerned-father mask slips for a fraction of a second and I see the monster peek out at me as I turn my phone toward the officers' faces and hit play.
"I recorded this about ten minutes ago through the windows of Ms. Bennett's home." I look over at Derek coldly as I listen to the crashing noises coming from the video. "You'll see a man enter through the side door using a key. He then proceeds to scatter prescription medication across the kitchen counter, stage alcohol bottles, dump food from the trash onto the floor, and destroy the child's bedroom. The whole thing takes about two minutes."
The officer takes my phone and watches the video while his partner leans in beside him. Derek backs away a few steps and shakes his head, face twisting into rage and then defiance before he covers his mouth.
The first officer looks up from the phone and turns to Derek. "Sir, is this you in this video?"
Derek's jaw drops and then he closes his mouth, but he can't say a word in his defense. I have proof. "That video is—I don't know what that is. He could've staged that. He's her boyfriend. He has access to the house."
"Sir, the timestamp shows this was recorded twelve minutes ago, which matches the timeline of your phone call. And I do believethat face on that video is yours." The officer hands my phone back to me. "Can you explain how you had a key to Ms. Bennett's residence?"
"I'm her ex-husband. I guess I just kept the key in case of emergency." He has no fucking excuse, and I can tell by the blank expression on his face.
"Breaking into someone's home and staging evidence isn't an emergency, Mr. Bennett." The officer steps closer to Derek, and I see his partner's hand move to his belt. "I'm going to need you to step over here with me."
Derek's eyes snap to Olivia, then to me, and he drops the act entirely now. His face twists into rage I've never seen on him before, not even in the worst conversations we had. He points at me, hand shaking as he says, "You did this. You ruined everything. I hired you to do a job and you turned on me for her."
"You hired me to find the truth," I tell him, trying not to let my temper out of control. "The truth is that you're a fraud who harasses women and manipulates the court system. You just dug your own grave." I take a step toward him and hold his glare. "And if you think this is bad, wait until the custody hearing when every piece of evidence of your scheme comes out in front of a judge."
Derek lunges, taking a swing at me, and his fist catches me on the left side of my jaw. The impact jars my teeth and into my skull. My head snaps sideways and I stumble back a step, tasting blood on my tongue, but I don't go down. Derek winds up for a second swing, but one of the officers grabs his arm mid-pull, yanking it behind his back. The second officer moves in and they drive him against the hood of the cruiser.
"Oh, God," Olivia mumbles, clinging to me. She's been quiet this whole time, watching me do exactly what I said I would do. I'm not about to let her be hurt by this asshole ever again.
Derek thrashes and curses, trying to twist free, but the officers have him pinned. The cuffs click on, one wrist, then the other, and his body goes rigid. He turns his head and glares at me, but he realizes he just lost, and he's not happy.
The second officer walks Derek to the back of the cruiser and opens the door and guides him inside while the first officer walks over to me and looks at my jaw. "You need medical attention?"
"I'm fine." I move my jaw from side to side and wince.
"We're going to need that video as evidence," the officer says, looking from me to Olivia. "And a statement from both of you."
"You'll have everything you need."
By the time they pull out with Derek in the back, half the neighborhood knows what went down. Ethan's friends cluster around him, asking a dozen questions, and Olivia is still clinging to me.
I really thought we'd have to wait this out until the hearing in July, but Derek just couldn’t control himself. His own anger got to the point that pushed him over the edge, and he'll probably regret that choice for the rest of his life.
"You okay?" I ask, and she nods, but I can tell she's crying.
