Nancy had never thought that her sweet mother-in-law Estel could ever be capable of something like this. She had trusted her completely with her baby boy Bobby, but this started to look more and more like a big mistake. Nancy demanded an explanation from Estel, and she got what she asked for. But Estel’s explanation made the poor mother burst out into tears… Nancy could not believe it, but her mother-in-law Estel was as serious as she could. The old woman was lucky that Nancy’s husband, Marco was also there at the time to hold her back. She doesn’t know what she would have done to Estel if he had been absent here… But instead of apologizing or even acknowledging that she had done something wrong, Estel stood firm in her belief that she had done the right thing with her actions. Bobby needed to be yelled at, and she knew nobody else would do it… Estel’s explanation caught Nancy entirely off guard. She wanted to be mad, but even Marco was now choosing the side of his mother… But why was Estel yelling at her grandson? Why was she so adamant that it was the right thing to do, and why did her explanation make Nancy Burst into tears? It had always been Nancy’s intention to have her mother-in-law Estel play a part in raising and babysitting her baby boy. She and her husband Marco were still working to make ends meet, and Estel lived very close by. But maybe they should have been a little more skeptical about her involvement… Estel had been retired for a couple of years now, which was seemingly ideal as she could babysit little Bobby whenever it was necessary. And on top of that, she did not want to receive a penny for it as spending time with her grandson was payment enough for her. It all seemed almost too perfect… While Nancy was very adamant about having her sweet mother-in-law babysit, her husband Marco was a bit more hesitant. He loved his mother very much, but he did have some less-than-pleasant memories about her raising him. She had always been very strict with him But Nancy actually saw this as a good thing. She did not want her baby to get spoiled too much by Estel anyway, as she was afraid that he might start liking her more than them. Estel’s strictness actually made her even more perfect for the job, she figured. But Nancy turned out to be very wrong in this assessment… The first couple of times that Estel babysat for Bobby, it seemed to be working out perfectly. She was on time every time, and even when Nancy unexpectedly got called away for work, Estel was at their house in 10 minutes, ready to care for Bobby. Marco also started coming around more and more to the idea of his mother caring for his son. Bobby seemed to be doing perfectly fine and was always happy when his grandmother walked through the door and picked him up. But everything was not as it seemed, and soon that would all come to light. Not long after Estel started babysitting Bobby, Nancy began to notice some changes in the baby boy’s behavior. The slight differences in her son’s behavior gave her a clue that something was most likely going wrong. Even though the changes were minor, Nancy was sure that something was off. The slight change Nancy noticed about her son was his show of fear in certain instances. Every time Nancy or Marco talked a bit louder than their normal voice, Bobby reacted in an unusual way. In those circumstances, he always seemed very afraid, an expression that wasn’t a part of him earlier. Nancy was sure that she had not seen the behavior in him before; as a result, Bobby’s expression of being afraid was strange to her. As soon as Nancy noticed the behavior, she began to think about where it could have stemmed from, but she could not figure out where. As far as she knew, she had never raised her voice to him, and neither had her husband done that. Also, Bobby has never been exposed to loud noises by his parents. Putting all her thoughts together, Nancy feared she was missing something. Based on this feeling, Nancy began to make use of her baby monitor more. The baby monitor was one of the gifts she got at her baby shower, which she only used for the first few weeks after she gave birth to Bobby. Nancy began to use the baby monitor almost every time; even when either or both parents were home, the device was constantly running in Bobby’s bedroom. Although the only time nobody kept an eye on the baby was during his nap time, the device was made to run around the clock. After some days of using the baby monitor, Nancy discovered nothing out of the ordinary in the footage from the device. At this realization, she began to wonder if she had been overthinking the whole matter. Before having a rethink about using the baby monitor, a day came when Estel had to babysit Bobby. On that fateful day, Nancy fully handed the care of Bobby to Estel. Initially, Nancy wanted to mention to Estel that she was trying to keep an eye out for loud noises, and as a result, she would be keeping the baby monitor on. But due to the rush to leave for work, Nancy forgot to make the narration to Estel before she left for work. Nancy had the screen on the whole time she was at work that day. She didn’t pay much attention to it because Bobby was not in bed most of the time, so she saw nothing happen on the screen. But the microphone suddenly started to pick something up at some point during the day. The sound she heard was a bit faint at first; as a result, she didn’t realize it was coming from the monitor. After hearing the sound a couple more times and realizing it was coming from the monitor, she quickly turned the speaker to hear what was happening clearly. After paying attention to the speaker, she heard screaming on the tape. This surprised her as the screaming was a lot and quite loud, and at intervals, the screaming was interrupted by the sound of crying. Nancy found it hard to believe what she was hearing, but one thing she was sure of was that the woman screaming was Estel. Over and over again, Nancy tried to confirm if she had heard right. After some time, it was evident that the loud screaming was coming from Estel and with that, she concluded that was most likely the reason behind Bobby’s fear of loud sounds. Nancy was left boiling with anger at her conclusion that Estel was behind her son’s strange change in behavior. What got her most annoyed was that Estel had denied to her face that she had nothing to do with Bobby’s recent show of fear at the sound of loud noise. The old woman should have known she was responsible for what was happening to Bobby, so Nancy thought. As she couldn’t wait to confront Estel on her actions towards her child, Nancy immediately took permission from her boss to take the rest of the day off; luckily for her, her request was granted without delay. Nancy couldn’t wait to take Bobby’s watch off Estel, so she drove home as fast as possible. On her way home, she thought to inform her husband what his mother had done. Immediately the thought crossed her mind; she put a call through to Marco and explained what happened. But to her greatest surprise, her husband, who is known to be consistently supportive, gave a strange reaction to her narration. Even though Marco believed what Nancy had told him, he made an unexpected request from his wife. Marco pleaded with Nancy not to confront Estel on the issue immediately; he stated that the first thing they would do was to get concrete evidence. Marco added that if Nancy should go ahead to confront Estel, it could lead to a big fight in the family. But why proof, wondered Nancy. She just wanted to end the misery Bobby had to undergo. She knew her husband well enough to understand he must have had a reason to want proof. She soon heard about this reason. Marco then tells Nancy he has memories about his mother that seem to be familiar to what is happening now. Nancy starts to wonder. How could she be so wrong about her mother-in-law?  Because she couldn’t understand, Nancy felt the urge to deny the true colors of her mother-in-law. She asked Marco for an example. She, of course, hoped that he wouldn’t be able to name an example and that all of this would turn out to be a misunderstanding. Unfortunately, this wasn’t the case… Marco accepts the need for an example. He proceeds to tell Nancy about his baby brother, who was born when Marco himself was ten years old. He painfully tells Nancy about her yelling at his baby brother. Nancy is baffled.  Once Nancy is calm and collected again, she decides to agree with Marco’s idea to get proof first. She understands they have to since Estel got away with it before. But how would they make sure this time Estel would be caught? Having to provide proof also meant Nancy and Marco needed to let things go the way they normally do. This meant Estel should not be able to notice a different attitude from Nancy. But was this possible after the discovery of her cruelty?  Nancy and Marco decide on a trap since that would be the most direct way to find proof. Their plan: let Estel babysit as usual while Marco would watch the monitor, and Nancy would stay close to the house to barge in once Marco gave her a signal. A plan with risks, as it turned out later…  Then the day comes; the couple welcomes Estel like they used in their home and soon afterward leave for work. It takes them everything they have to contain their anger. Will their plan turn out the way they planned?  Marco leaves the house first and sits down in the backseat of his car. He opens the live footage of the baby monitor. Nancy, on the other hand, hides in the staircase of the building to stay close. The waiting game begins… Hours pass by, but nothing happens! Estel is a formidable babysitter, and there is no footage remotely close to evidence. Nancy and Marco contemplate how this is possible and consider their next move. Time was ticking as they wanted little Bobby soon to be out of the hands of his grandmother.  The couple didn’t understand how it was possible but wasted no time on looking for an explanation. Their next plan was to ask Estel to babysit Bobby on the weekend, so they could spend some quality time together. But of course, they’d be very close by. They weren’t prepared for what was about to unfold…  Estel immediately agrees by telling the couple she is happy to babysit Bobby. Once again, Nancy’s blood is boiling. But she knows better than to act on it and keeps her eye on the bigger picture.  The day arrives, and this time, Nancy and Marco watch the monitor together. They hide underneath the staircase of the building in order to stay close by. Bobby’s bedtime is very soon, and this is where Estel usually screams at the poor little boy…  Soon after, Estel appears on the monitor while she lays Bobby to sleep. Strangely enough, she seems to be having a conversation at the same time. Nancy and Marco look at each other in disbelief. All of a sudden, a shadow appears in the door opening…  Nancy has little time to pay attention to it because Bobby starts crying. It’s a crucial moment, and Estel seems to react: she starts to speak to little Bobby and raises her voice. This is it…  Marco and Nancy get up. They quickly move up the stairs as they’re closing in on the floor of their apartment. At the same time, they’re watching the monitor so they know when to barge in. But a surprising turn of events was to shock them. The moment Estel should start yelling, she simply doesn’t. It’s because of the stranger that is with her, as the stranger surprisingly points out the monitor! How was it possible this stranger was aware of the monitor, even though Estel herself wasn’t even aware of it?  Estel stands still for a few seconds, making up her mind. She then walks toward the monitor and turns it off. Nancy and Marco grasp for air, knowing that they’re no longer in contact with their little boy. ‘’What do we do now?’’ they ask each other.  Their first reaction was to walk in, to at least be sure of their safety of Bobby. But then it occurred to them; they still had no proof. The proof was much needed, and however defeated they were for now, they were closing in…  Nancy and Marco decide to return on the agreed time, still determined to find proof sooner or later. In their mind, their first step was to find out who the stranger was. It takes them everything they have to not show their disturbance as Estel opens the door.  Nancy doesn’t waste time and directly asks about the company: ‘’Were you alone today?’’ she asked, with a frown of curiosity. Estel, without hesitation, says she had a visit from a friend. Nancy decides to play it slowly and doesn’t ask about the friend. Was Estel really cooperating?  Estel leaves, and Nancy evaluates the situation. She and Marco agree on no more traps. Because how could they? Leaving these traps still meant that Bobby was in the hands of his cruel grandmother. Nancy convinces Marco of the need for a confrontation. Perhaps, Estel would come clean. And in the worst case, she would deny everything, and Nancy and Marco would simply react by forbidding her to see Bobby. Marco agrees, and so a big confrontation is awaiting them… Estel is invited over for dinner and shows up at the agreed time. Nancy (fueled with anger) isn’t able to keep up the act and immediately starts accusing Estel of her cruel actions. It doesn’t take long before Estel bursts into tears, begging them to listen to her side of the story…  Estel explained how she was terrified of not bonding with her grandson, the same way it happened with her second son. Screaming at her grandson because he didn’t respond to her loving ways was a way to at least make him remember her and therefore increase the chance of bonding. Estel promised to better her ways, and eventually, after some years, she learned how to be a loving grandmother.