"You see," Vivian said, her voice carrying gentle, almost sympathetic finality, "there's simply no footage of anything like what she's describing. I've told you before, Daniel, sometimes she does things herself and doesn't remember afterward."
Daniel stared at his phone screen, genuine confusion and mounting frustration building as he found nothing to substantiate his grandmother's claim, the household cameras showing nothing unusual in the hallway outside her bedroom door. "You did that yourself!" he said, his voice sharpening with an aggravation directed, uncomfortably, partly at his own confusion and partly at the unresolved tension building in the room.
Eleanor's face crumpled further, the devastating helplessness of being disbelieved settling visibly over her, her earlier pleading expression giving way to quiet, exhausted defeat.
Vivian stood slightly behind Daniel now, her expression carrying a small, private satisfaction that she made no particular effort to fully conceal, apparently confident that the matter had been settled entirely in her favor.