“When Gracie was born, everyone said she was a blessing, that I could finally be a proper mother,” she stated. “But I couldn’t sleep. And every time she cried, I felt like someone was trying to make me pay for the past.”

“And instead of asking for help, you decided to take that pain out on our daughter,” Sawyer said, his voice flat.

Carolina lifted her chin, trying to sound defiant. “It was only one time.”

Sawyer pulled out his phone and played the audio files he’d received from Mrs. Kennedy—months of documented shouting and crying. Carolina stumbled back as she heard the recording of herself screaming at the child.

“That nosy, pathetic woman,” she hissed.

“Be grateful she was the only one paying attention to our daughter when I wasn’t there,” Sawyer replied coldly.