Chapter 2 - THE CAMERA ABOVE THE DOOR
The following morning, Emily waited until Daniel left for work.
She stood on a chair beneath the hallway light and examined the small black fixture beside the smoke detector.
At first glance, it looked like part of the security system.
But the angle was wrong.
Instead of facing the front door or the windows, it pointed directly toward the bedroom.
Emily took a photograph.
She then searched every room in the house.
There were visible security cameras outside, which Daniel had shown her when she moved in. Those were connected to an application on his phone.
The devices inside were different.
She found one above the kitchen doorway.
Another was hidden in the bookshelf facing the living room sofa.
A third was positioned inside the upstairs hallway.
Emily’s hands began to shake.
She called Daniel.
He answered on the fourth ring.
“Is something wrong?”
“Why are there cameras inside the house?”
Silence followed.
Then Daniel sighed.
“They’re part of the original security installation.”
“You never told me.”
“I forgot.”
“One is facing our bedroom.”
“It covers the hallway.”
“It can see the bed when the door is open.”
“Then close the door.”
Emily stepped down from the chair.
“You said you didn’t like closed doors.”
Daniel’s tone sharpened.
“Emily, I am in a meeting.”
“Are they recording us?”
“They only activate when the alarm is armed.”
The tiny red light she had seen at 2:17 told her otherwise.
“I want access to the recordings.”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because they are connected to company servers. There is confidential information on them.”
“Confidential information about us?”
“Stop turning this into something dramatic.”
The call ended.
Emily stared at the phone.
Ten minutes later, Vanessa arrived.
She did not knock. She entered using her own key.
Vanessa Mercer was elegant in a way that made other people feel untidy. Her dark hair was always smooth, her clothes always precise. Even when she smiled, her eyes remained watchful.
“Daniel said you were upset.”
“He called you?”
“He worries about you.”
“He hung up on me.”
“Because he is working.”
Emily crossed her arms.
“Why do you have a key?”
“I manage the property.”
“I live here.”
“Yes,” Vanessa said. “You do.”
Something about her emphasis made Emily uncomfortable.
Vanessa walked to the coffee machine and prepared a drink without asking permission.
“The cameras were installed after someone broke into the house several years ago,” she explained. “Daniel’s first fiancée became paranoid about them too.”
Emily went still.
“His first fiancée?”
Vanessa looked over her shoulder.
“He never told you?”
“No.”
“It was a long time ago.”
“What was her name?”
Vanessa stirred her coffee.
“Laura.”
“What happened to her?”
“She left.”
“Why?”
“Because she was unstable.”
The answer came too quickly.
Emily watched Vanessa place the spoon neatly beside the sink.
“Did Laura live here?”
“For a few months.”
“Did she know about the cameras?”
Vanessa smiled faintly.
“You are asking dangerous questions.”
“Dangerous for whom?”
Vanessa’s expression changed.
Only slightly.
But Emily saw it.
“Marriage is difficult,” Vanessa said. “Daniel needs peace. He needs someone loyal. He thought you understood that.”
“Loyalty doesn’t mean being watched.”
“No. But gratitude sometimes means not questioning every gift.”
“This house isn’t a gift.”
“Isn’t it?”
Vanessa walked toward the hallway.
Before leaving, she turned back.
“The property review is in four months. I suggest you avoid creating unnecessary problems before then.”
The front door closed behind her.
Emily immediately searched online for Daniel’s former fiancée.
She found no social media accounts under the name Laura connected to him. There were no engagement photographs, no announcements, and no public records she could easily access.
But in an archived society page from seven years earlier, she found a photograph of Daniel attending a fundraising gala.
The caption identified the woman beside him as Dr. Laura Bennett.
Emily enlarged the picture.
Laura was blonde, graceful, and smiling.
She wore Daniel’s grandmother’s ring.
The same ring now on Emily’s finger.
Emily searched Laura’s name.
The first results were medical articles. Laura had been a psychiatric resident at a local hospital.
Then, three months after the gala photograph, her name disappeared from all professional records.
The final result was a missing-person notice.
Dr. Laura Bennett, twenty-nine years old, last seen leaving Bellweather Road.
Emily stared at the screen until the words blurred.
A sound came from the kitchen.
A quiet click.
The tablet on the counter had turned itself on.
A message appeared.
Unknown user: Do not let Daniel know you found Laura.
Emily’s breath caught.
She typed a response.
Who are you?
The message vanished before it could send.
Then a live camera feed appeared.
Emily saw herself standing in the kitchen.
The image came from the device above the doorway.
In the lower corner of the screen, a line of text flashed for less than two seconds.
HE IS COMING HOME.
May you like
Emily looked toward the driveway.
Daniel’s car was already passing through the gate.
