Chapter 5 - what happened on the stairs)
Daniel's first instinct was to run upstairs.
He found Isabella in the family room coloring beside Rosa.
"Sweetheart."
She looked up.
He stopped himself from asking immediately.
The terror she had shown in the garden returned whenever Beatriz's name entered the room.
Daniel sat beside her instead.
"Can we talk later?"
She studied his face.
"About what?"
"The stairs."
The crayon stopped moving.
Daniel's heart sank.
"You know what I mean."
Isabella looked at Rosa.
Rosa's face had gone pale.
Daniel noticed.
"Rosa?"
She whispered, "I did not see it."
"See what?"
"I only heard Isabella fall."
Daniel turned to his daughter.
"Did you fall?"
Isabella nodded.
"When?"
"Last month."
"Where?"
"The back stairs."
Daniel struggled to keep his voice calm.
"How?"
Isabella began rubbing her wrist.
"Beatriz was angry."
"Why?"
"I spilled juice."
"And?"
"She made me clean it."
"Then what happened?"
"I wanted to call you."
Daniel swallowed.
"What happened when you tried?"
"She took the phone."
Isabella's eyes filled with tears.
"She grabbed my arm."
Daniel felt heat rise through him.
"Did she push you?"
Isabella shook her head quickly.
"No."
Daniel waited.
"She let go when I was on the step."
He understood.
A manipulation subtle enough to become an accident.
"Did you get hurt?"
"My ankle."
"Did you see a doctor?"
"No."
"Why?"
"She wrapped it."
Daniel looked at Rosa.
Rosa lowered her eyes.
"I saw the bandage the next day. Beatriz told me Isabella twisted it playing outside."
Daniel stood and walked away before his daughter could see his expression.
He gripped the edge of the kitchen counter.
The anonymous caller knew about the stairs.
Which meant someone had either witnessed it or recorded it.
Mara entered carrying her laptop.
"Daniel."
He turned.
She glanced toward Isabella, then lowered her voice.
"I recovered part of the hidden camera archive."
Daniel felt his pulse accelerate.
"Does it show the stairs?"
"Not that camera."
"Then what?"
"The blue room."
Daniel stared at her.
Mara's expression was careful.
"There are clips."
Daniel did not ask for details.
"Is she alone?"
"Mostly."
"Mostly?"
"Beatriz appears."
Daniel closed his eyes.
"How bad?"
"Psychological intimidation. Forced isolation. Nothing graphic."
Relief and horror collided inside him.
"Does Beatriz touch her?"
"I saw her grab Isabella's wrist once."
Daniel looked at his daughter.
"Enough to leave marks?"
"Possibly."
He swallowed.
"Why record it?"
"That's the strange part."
"What?"
"The camera wasn't hidden from Beatriz."
Daniel stared.
"She knew it was there?"
"She looked directly into it several times."
"Then she installed it."
"Or someone instructed her to."
Mara opened a video still.
Beatriz stood in the blue room.
Isabella sat against the wall holding the cream blanket.
Beatriz was looking above the door.
At the hidden lens.
Daniel's hands began to shake.
"Turn it off."
Mara closed the screen immediately.
He walked toward the terrace.
Ethan and Jonah returned twenty minutes later.
Daniel told them about the phone.
Jonah examined the device.
"Disposable."
"Can you trace the caller?"
"Maybe. Don't expect much."
"What did he mean by the stairs?"
Daniel explained.
Jonah looked toward the villa.
"Someone wants you to discover this."
"Why?"
"That's the question."
Ethan placed Lucia's written statement on the table.
"There's more."
Daniel sat.
"Go."
"Lucia saw Beatriz photograph documents in your office."
"The trust?"
"She couldn't see."
"Anything about Adrian?"
"Yes."
Daniel waited.
"She heard them arguing."
"About?"
"A deadline."
Daniel leaned forward.
"What deadline?"
"Lucia remembers Adrian saying, 'The signature has to happen before September.'"
Daniel checked the date.
August 25.
"Signature on what?"
"No idea."
Ethan slid another document across the table.
"Maybe this."
It was a photocopy Lucia had made before being dismissed.
A page from Daniel's office printer tray.
At first, Daniel did not understand what he was reading.
Then he saw the title.
Temporary Guardianship Authorization.
His name appeared at the bottom.
Daniel Whitmore.
The signature looked exactly like his.
But he had never signed it.
The proposed temporary guardian was Beatriz Maria Ruiz.
Daniel felt the room go silent.
"Why would she need guardianship?"
Ethan pointed toward the second page.
"If Daniel Whitmore becomes incapacitated, unavailable, or subject to legal restrictions, temporary authority over Isabella passes to Beatriz."
Daniel read further.
The guardian would obtain limited authority over Isabella's educational, medical, and residential decisions.
And, under certain emergency provisions, could petition for temporary access to trust funds for the child's care.
Daniel looked up.
"They weren't just frightening Isabella."
Ethan's face was grim.
"No."
"They were building a situation."
Jonah nodded slowly.
"A frightened child. A frequently absent father. A trusted caregiver."
Daniel continued.
"Then something happens to me."
Nobody answered.
The disposable phone rang again.
Everyone froze.
Daniel answered.
Silence.
Then the same man's voice.
"You still think this is about Beatriz."
Daniel gripped the phone.
"Who are you?"
The caller ignored the question.
"Ask Adrian what happened to Claire."
The line went dead.
Daniel stopped breathing.
Claire had died four years earlier.
Her car had left a wet mountain road outside Ronda.
Police had classified it as an accident.
May you like
Daniel had believed them.
Until that moment.
