Chapter 21 - CONNOR’S TABLET
Connor kept the tablet.
After police returned it years later, his parents locked it away.
Evidence copies existed separately.
At twenty-five he asked Grace:
“Do you want it?”
“No.”
“Do you want me to destroy it?”
She thought.
“Are there family videos that aren’t horrible?”
“Yes.”
“Dad?”
“Some.”
Andrew appeared in old clips.
Birthday.
Barbecue.
Teaching Connor to throw a baseball.
Grace became curious.
They hired a digital archivist.
Not because trauma should become a project.
Because they wanted to separate family memory from evidence.
The archivist copied non-abusive personal footage.
Everything involving staged mistreatment remained under legal archival restrictions or was destroyed when allowed.
Grace watched one video.
Andrew behind camera.
Grace was two.
He said:
“Princess Bean, look here.”
She ignored him completely.
He laughed.
“Excellent consent.”
Grace cried.
Then laughed.
“That’s Dad.”
Connor nodded.
The tablet was eventually recycled after safe data destruction.
No museum.
No sale.
No relic.
A device became electronics waste.
May you like
The memories they wanted stayed.
The exploitation did not need a physical shrine.
