Chapter 4 - What Happened After Midnight)
The deleted recording was damaged.
Not destroyed.
Marcus explained the difference while Richard watched the recovery software crawl across the screen.
The original system wrote data in blocks. Deleting a file removed its index, but portions remained until overwritten.
The old recorder had barely been used.
Most of the data was still there.
At 11:48 p.m. on the night of the engagement, the marble hallway appeared on screen.
Guests had already left.
The lights were dim.
Richard watched Victoria walk into view.
She was barefoot, carrying her shoes.
She stopped beside the statue.
A man entered from the foyer.
Sarah recognized him.
Adrian Hale.
Victoria's older brother.
She had met him once at a restaurant.
He was handsome, polished, and almost as charming as Victoria.
The audio crackled.
Then his voice became clear.
"You asked him?"
Victoria glanced toward the staircase.
"Not directly."
"What did the lawyer say?"
"Caroline protected everything."
Adrian cursed quietly.
Richard did not move.
Victoria continued.
"The company shares stay with the child."
"For how long?"
"Until he's older."
Adrian leaned against the wall.
"So marry Richard."
"I am."
"And make him change it."
"He won't if I push too quickly."
Adrian laughed.
"You've been playing grieving stepmother for nine months."
"I'm not his stepmother yet."
"Then become one."
Richard paused the video.
No one spoke.
He stared at Victoria's frozen face.
Sarah felt almost sorry for him.
Almost.
Richard resumed the recording.
Victoria's voice returned.
"Richard doesn't trust easily. Caroline made sure of that."
"Caroline is dead."
"Yes, Adrian. I noticed."
"And the nanny?"
Victoria's expression hardened.
"Temporary problem."
Sarah felt her stomach tighten.
Adrian said something the damaged audio did not capture.
Victoria answered.
"Once I'm his wife, Sarah is gone."
The recording broke into static.
Then returned seventeen seconds later.
Adrian was leaving.
Victoria stood beside the statue.
She looked directly toward the camera.
For one terrible second, Sarah thought Victoria knew.
But she was only examining the sculpture.
Then she whispered to herself.
"One problem at a time."
The recording ended.
Richard walked out of the security room without speaking.
Sarah followed him into the hallway.
"Richard."
He stopped.
"Do not tell me you're sorry."
"I wasn't going to."
He looked at her.
Sarah kept her voice steady.
"You don't have to decide what all of it means today."
"Yes, I do."
"No. You need to decide what keeps Ethan safe today."
That reached him.
He looked upstairs.
Toward the nursery.
Richard's anger had always been a controlled thing.
Now Sarah saw something else beneath it.
Shame.
He blamed himself.
That could become dangerous in a different way.
People who blamed themselves sometimes rushed toward decisions simply because decisions felt like punishment.
"Richard."
He looked back.
"Don't confront her yet."
His expression sharpened.
"Why?"
"Because her brother is involved."
"I'm aware."
"You don't know how much."
He said nothing.
"Marcus found one recording. There may be more."
Richard looked toward the statue.
"Then we find them."
The investigation became invisible.
That was Marcus's recommendation.
Victoria was told the stolen drive had not been recovered.
Richard behaved normally.
The wedding remained scheduled.
Sarah hated the performance.
Every meal became unbearable.
Victoria would touch Richard's arm.
He would smile.
She would ask about his day.
He would answer.
Sometimes Ethan sat in his high chair between them while Sarah stood nearby.
Victoria would make cheerful noises at him.
Ethan rarely smiled back.
One evening, Victoria lifted a spoon toward Ethan's mouth.
Sarah stepped forward.
"I'll feed him."
Victoria looked at her.
"Richard?"
Richard folded his napkin.
"Let Sarah do it."
A flash of anger crossed Victoria's face.
Gone almost immediately.
"Of course."
After dinner, Victoria entered Richard's study.
Sarah passed outside twenty minutes later and heard shouting.
Not Richard.
Victoria.
"How long are you going to punish me because some camera malfunctioned?"
Richard's reply was too quiet to hear.
Victoria lowered her voice.
Sarah continued walking.
The next morning, Victoria apologized to everyone at breakfast.
She blamed wedding stress.
Richard kissed her forehead.
Sarah almost admired the performance.
Almost.
Marcus spent days restoring additional fragments from the drive.
Most showed nothing unusual.
Staff crossing the hallway.
Deliveries.
Guests.
Then he found a recording from five weeks earlier.
2:13 a.m.
Victoria entered the hallway wearing a robe.
She was holding Richard's phone.
Richard was not with her.
She walked into the library.
Twenty minutes later, she returned.
Before going upstairs, she photographed several pages with her own phone.
Marcus zoomed in.
The documents were Richard's estate planning papers.
Jonathan's face darkened when he saw them.
"Those were locked in Richard's desk."
Richard looked at Marcus.
"How did she get the key?"
Marcus brought up another clip.
Two days earlier.
Victoria had entered Richard's bedroom while he showered.
She had pressed his key into a small piece of soft wax.
A copied key.
Sarah felt sick.
Victoria had not stumbled into temptation.
She had been planning.
The next question was how far the plan extended.
Jonathan reviewed the estate documents.
One section had been marked in pencil.
Guardianship.
If Richard died before Ethan turned eighteen, Richard's nominated guardian would assume care of the child, subject to court approval.
At present, that nominated guardian was Richard's sister, Rebecca Bennett.
Victoria's name appeared nowhere.
Richard stared at the page.
"She wanted me to change this."
Jonathan nodded.
"If she became guardian, would she control the trust?"
"Not directly."
"But she would control Ethan."
Jonathan's silence answered the question.
Richard pushed away from the table.
Sarah watched him cross the room.
"Where are you going?"
"To end the engagement."
Jonathan stood.
"Richard."
"No."
"Listen to me."
"I have listened for weeks."
Jonathan's voice hardened.
"Then listen one more minute."
Richard stopped.
"If Victoria believes she is exposed, she may destroy evidence."
"I don't care about evidence."
"You will if she has committed a crime."
"I want her away from my son."
"So do I."
Sarah stepped between the argument.
"Then remove Ethan."
Richard looked at her.
"What?"
"Take him somewhere else. Quietly."
Victoria could remain in the mansion.
The investigation could continue.
But Ethan would not be part of it.
Richard considered.
Sarah continued.
"Tell her you're taking Ethan to your lake house for a few days because of a board retreat. I'll go with him."
Victoria would hate being excluded.
But she would not immediately know why.
Richard nodded slowly.
The plan was made.
It should have protected Ethan.
It should have bought them time.
But that evening, before Richard could announce the trip, Victoria received a phone call from Adrian.
Sarah saw her standing on the terrace.
Victoria listened.
Her face changed.
She looked through the glass doors.
Directly at Sarah.
May you like
Then she ended the call.
And smiled.
