Chapter 6 - What Grant Saw After He Closed the Door)
Grant watched the recovered footage three times.
Vivienne stood across the room.
Tessa remained upstairs with Noah.
The video was not from the living room camera.
It came from a backup lens built into the entry alarm sensor.
Grant had forgotten it existed.
The image was wide.
Silent.
But clear enough.
He watched Vivienne approach Noah.
He watched her leg move.
He watched his son tumble onto the rug.
The first time Grant saw it, his body reacted before his mind did.
His hand tightened around the phone.
His breathing stopped.
His vision narrowed.
The second time, he forced himself to observe details.
Tessa rushing forward.
Vivienne reaching again.
Tessa blocking her.
Vivienne grabbing Tessa.
Tessa slapping her.
Vivienne reaching for the vase.
The strike.
The front door opening.
Grant entering.
The third time, he watched Noah.
Only Noah.
His son had seen Vivienne approaching before the kick.
The child had tried to crawl away.
Grant lowered the phone.
Vivienne was crying now.
But no tears reached her voice.
"It looks worse than it was."
Grant stared at her.
She swallowed.
"I didn't mean to hurt him."
Grant did not speak.
"It was reflexive."
Still nothing.
"He startled me."
Grant's expression remained blank.
Vivienne became desperate.
"Tessa had been provoking me all morning."
Grant finally said, "Noah is one year old."
"I know."
"You kicked him."
"It wasn't like that."
"I watched it."
"You watched an angle."
Grant stared at her as if he did not understand the sentence.
Vivienne stepped closer.
"Grant, please. You know me."
He almost laughed.
Instead he asked, "Do I?"
Vivienne stopped.
Grant looked at the memory card in his hand.
Her gaze dropped to it.
He saw fear return.
"You told Tessa that camera was broken."
Vivienne said nothing.
"You knew the primary system had been interrupted."
Still nothing.
"You knew there was a card in this house."
Her face became pale.
Grant continued.
"And you knew Elise recorded something before she died."
Vivienne shook her head.
"No."
"You told me to delete a file before I opened it."
"Because I know what Elise was like near the end."
Grant's jaw tightened.
"Careful."
Vivienne hesitated.
Grant's voice became colder.
"Choose your next sentence very carefully."
Vivienne's shoulders lowered.
"She wasn't herself."
Grant stared.
"She had postpartum anxiety."
"You are not diagnosing my dead wife to save yourself."
"She accused everyone."
"Did she accuse you of stealing?"
Vivienne froze.
Grant watched the answer appear in her silence.
His stomach turned.
"Get out."
Vivienne blinked.
"Grant."
"Get out of my house."
"You need me."
"No."
"Your lawyers will call the police if you do this emotionally."
"I already called them."
Her face changed.
Grant held up the phone.
"Police are on the way."
Vivienne stared at him.
"You called them?"
"I watched you hurt my son."
"It was an accident."
"You picked up a vase and hit the woman protecting him."
Vivienne's voice rose.
"She hit me first."
Grant looked toward the fallen vase.
"You entered my home without permission."
"I have a key."
"Not anymore."
"You gave it to me."
"That was before I knew what you were."
Vivienne stepped back as if struck.
Grant did not soften.
"Sit down."
"What?"
"Until the police arrive."
Vivienne laughed in disbelief.
"You think you can order me to sit like a criminal?"
Grant's gaze became glacial.
"I think you can sit voluntarily, or I can tell the dispatcher you are attempting to leave after assaulting a child."
Vivienne stared at him.
Then slowly sat.
Grant moved toward the stairs.
"Where are you going?"
"To my son."
"Grant."
He ignored her.
"Grant, if you give the police that card, you are going to destroy Elise's memory."
He stopped.
Vivienne saw it.
She stood.
"I mean it."
Grant turned slowly.
"Explain."
Vivienne's confidence returned by a fraction.
"Elise was hiding more than you know."
"What?"
"Ask yourself why she recorded those videos instead of coming to you."
Grant said nothing.
"Ask why she changed Noah's trust without telling you."
His eyes narrowed.
"How do you know she changed it?"
Vivienne realized the mistake.
Grant took a step toward her.
"How do you know?"
Vivienne backed away.
Grant waited.
She whispered, "Because I saw the papers."
"In the locked office?"
Silence.
"You went into Elise's office."
Vivienne's eyes filled.
"She asked me to help her before she died."
"Then why did you lie?"
"Because you were grieving."
"Stop using my grief as an excuse for your lies."
Vivienne looked toward the door.
Sirens were faintly audible in the distance.
Her face changed.
"Grant, listen to me."
He did not move.
"There are people involved in this who will not let you walk away because you found one memory card."
Grant stared.
"Who?"
Vivienne's voice lowered.
"You think I wanted any of this?"
"Who?"
"You have no idea what Elise discovered."
"Then tell me."
Vivienne glanced toward the security camera.
For the first time, her fear looked genuine.
Not fear of police.
Not fear of Grant.
Fear of being heard.
She whispered, "Turn that off."
Grant did not.
"Turn it off and I'll tell you what happened the night Elise died."
The sirens grew louder.
Grant looked at the camera.
Then at Vivienne.
"Tell me now."
Vivienne shook her head.
"You don't understand."
"Make me understand."
She stepped closer.
"Elise was not supposed to die."
Grant's face went still.
Vivienne whispered, "And I was not the person who killed her."
The doorbell rang.
Police.
Grant did not move.
Vivienne stared at him.
"Once they take me out that door, the person who did will know you found the card."
Grant felt the room become cold.
The doorbell rang again.
From upstairs, Noah began crying.
Grant looked toward the stairs.
Then back at Vivienne.
May you like
She whispered one final sentence before he opened the door.
"Ask Tessa why Elise knew her name before you ever hired her."
