Chapter 3 - The Black Box)
Rebecca reached the Collins house at 11:47 p.m.
Most of the relatives had gone.
Two cars remained in the driveway.
Neither belonged to Judith.
Rebecca parked across the street.
The house looked peaceful.
That was the disturbing part.
Warm lamps glowed through the windows.
Dinner glasses still covered the table.
From outside, nothing suggested that a woman had been pushed down the basement stairs hours earlier.
Rebecca used the spare key Graham had given her years ago.
The front door opened quietly.
"Hello?"
No answer.
She entered.
The casserole remained scattered on the basement steps.
A broken ceramic handle lay near the wall.
Rebecca looked at the top stair.
Then at the landing.
She imagined Nora falling.
Her stomach turned.
She descended carefully.
At the bottom, she found the hallway camera.
Tiny.
Easy to miss.
A small green light blinked.
Still working.
Rebecca exhaled.
She followed Nora's instructions toward the storage room.
The cabinet was heavy.
She pushed it aside.
There was no black box.
Rebecca froze.
She checked again.
Nothing.
Only dust.
Then she heard movement upstairs.
A door closing.
Rebecca switched off the storage room light.
Footsteps crossed the kitchen.
Judith's voice drifted down.
"Where is it?"
Rebecca stopped breathing.
Graham answered.
"I told you I don't know."
"You live here."
"So does Nora."
"And apparently she's been collecting things behind your back."
Rebecca pulled out her phone.
She pressed record.
Their footsteps approached the basement.
Judith continued.
"She has always been calculating."
Graham sounded angry now.
"You pushed her down the stairs."
Silence.
Rebecca's eyes widened.
Judith answered.
"I lost my temper."
"You could have killed her."
"Don't be dramatic."
Rebecca covered her mouth.
Graham continued.
"The doctor knows something."
"What?"
"He looked at the scans like he'd seen more than tonight."
Judith lowered her voice.
"Then she has been telling them stories."
Rebecca heard Graham descend one step.
"Mom, what else happened?"
"What do you mean?"
"Other injuries."
Judith did not answer.
Graham's voice sharpened.
"What did you do?"
"What you should have done years ago."
Rebecca felt cold.
Judith continued.
"Your wife has been trying to separate you from your family since the wedding."
"That doesn't answer me."
"I corrected her."
"Corrected her how?"
Another pause.
Then Judith said quietly, "Do you really want to know?"
Rebecca stared into the darkness.
This was no longer about tonight.
Graham whispered, "Yes."
Judith laughed softly.
"No, Graham. You don't. Because if you admit you knew what I was capable of, then you have to admit what kind of husband you've been."
Rebecca heard Graham inhale sharply.
Judith had found the wound.
And pressed directly into it.
Footsteps continued downward.
Rebecca looked around.
No second exit.
No window large enough to escape.
She moved behind a stack of boxes.
Judith entered the storage room first.
Graham followed.
He switched on the light.
Rebecca crouched lower.
Judith walked toward the cabinet.
"It's gone."
Graham stared at the empty space.
"You knew where it was?"
"I suspected."
"How?"
"I saw Nora come down here."
"When?"
"Three nights ago."
Rebecca's heart pounded.
Judith turned.
"If she gave it to someone, you need to find out who."
"I'm not doing this."
Judith stared at him.
"You already have."
Graham's shoulders dropped.
"What?"
"You have defended me for eight years."
"I tried to keep peace."
"No. You made a choice."
Rebecca saw Graham's face clearly between two boxes.
For once, he looked as though he understood.
Judith stepped closer.
"You chose your mother because your wife was easier to disappoint."
Graham said nothing.
Judith smiled.
"And now you don't get to pretend you're innocent."
They left the room.
Rebecca waited until she heard the front door close.
Only then did she stand.
The black box was gone.
But the camera remained.
She removed the memory card.
Then she checked the camera app.
Cloud backup.
Rebecca almost laughed.
She opened the most recent recording.
The video showed the top of the basement stairs.
Time stamp 7:14 p.m.
Nora entered carrying the casserole.
Judith appeared behind her.
The audio was faint.
"I know what you've been doing."
Nora turned.
Judith pushed her.
Clear.
Deliberate.
Both hands.
Rebecca closed her eyes.
There it was.
Proof.
She sent the video to her own phone.
Then to an email address Graham and Judith did not know.
After that she called Nora.
No answer.
She called again.
A hospital nurse answered.
"Nora is resting."
"This is Rebecca Collins. Tell her I found the recording."
The nurse paused.
"I'll let her know."
Rebecca walked upstairs.
Before leaving, she noticed something beneath the dining table.
A small black object.
She bent down.
It was Nora's voice recorder.
Rebecca picked it up.
The screen showed one recent file.
Recorded tonight.
Duration fourteen minutes.
Rebecca pressed play.
At first there was only the sound of dishes.
Then Judith's voice.
"You think you're clever."
Nora.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"You've been recording this family."
Silence.
Then Nora.
"Maybe I needed to."
Rebecca's hand tightened around the device.
Judith spoke again.
"You should remember who people believe, Nora."
Then Graham's distant voice.
Then footsteps.
Then Judith.
"I know what you've been doing."
A crash.
Nora's scream.
Rebecca stopped the recording.
She no longer needed to wonder whether Nora had enough evidence.
The question now was how much evidence existed.
Back at the hospital, Nora woke shortly after midnight.
Dr. Mercer entered with a woman from the hospital's advocacy team.
Her name was Elaine Brooks.
She spoke calmly.
"We can help you make a safety plan."
Nora stared toward the hallway.
"Graham is still here?"
"Yes."
"Judith?"
"Yes."
Nora thought about the house.
The camera.
Rebecca.
Then her phone vibrated.
A message.
I found the video.
Nora read it twice.
Her hands began trembling.
Elaine noticed.
"Good news?"
Nora looked at her.
"For the first time in years."
Then another message arrived.
And I found something else.
Nora opened it.
A photograph filled the screen.
Her voice recorder.
Nora whispered, "Oh my God."
Elaine moved closer.
"What is it?"
Nora looked at Dr. Mercer.
Then at Elaine.
"I think I can prove everything."
May you like
But across town, Judith Collins was sitting in Graham's car.
And in her handbag was the missing black box.
