Chapter 4 - The Camera That Was Already Dead
Vanessa dragged Olivia away from the front window.
“Stop fighting!”
“You’re hurting my babies!”
“Then give me the code.”
Olivia clawed at Vanessa’s wrist.
Vanessa released her hair and shoved her onto the floor.
Olivia landed on one knee.
A sharp cramp tightened across her abdomen.
She gasped.
Vanessa watched her carefully.
“What happened?”
Olivia pressed a hand against her stomach.
“Nothing.”
“That didn’t look like nothing.”
Olivia tried to stand.
Another cramp came.
Stronger.
She closed her eyes and breathed through it.
Vanessa crouched beside her.
“Are you in labor?”
Olivia glared at her.
“Call an ambulance.”
“After you authorize the transfer.”
“My babies could die.”
“Then you should make the right decision.”
Olivia stared at her in disbelief.
“You would let two babies die for money?”
Vanessa’s expression remained cold.
“They’re not my babies.”
The words stripped away Olivia’s remaining fear.
She reached for the glass bowl on the coffee table and threw it.
Vanessa ducked.
The bowl shattered against the wall.
Olivia pushed herself upright and moved toward the front door.
Vanessa caught her from behind.
Her fist struck Olivia’s abdomen.
A blinding pain tore through her.
Olivia collapsed.
Warm liquid spread beneath her.
For one terrible moment, the mansion became completely silent.
Vanessa looked down.
Olivia’s dress was soaked.
“My water broke…”
Her voice trembled.
Vanessa stepped backward.
“No.”
Olivia began crying.
“They’re too early.”
“You’re thirty-four weeks.”
“How do you know that?”
Vanessa did not answer.
Olivia’s fear sharpened.
She knew the exact stage of the pregnancy.
Vanessa had been watching more closely than anyone realized.
“Call Daniel,” Olivia whispered.
Vanessa picked up the trust authorization form.
“The code first.”
“Please.”
“The code.”
“My babies need a hospital.”
“And I need access to the trust.”
Olivia curled around her stomach.
“You’ll go to prison.”
“No one is going to believe you.”
“The cameras…”
Vanessa turned toward the hallway camera.
The red light was still blinking.
Panic flashed across her face.
She crossed the room, pulled the device from the wall and smashed it beneath her heel.
The red light disappeared.
Vanessa kicked the pieces aside.
“There.”
She looked down at Olivia.
“Now there is no proof.”
The front door burst open.
Daniel stepped inside.
He stared at the scene.
Olivia lay on the floor, crying.
Vanessa stood over her.
The trust documents were scattered across the table.
The destroyed camera rested beneath Vanessa’s shoe.
“Vanessa!”
Daniel dropped his briefcase.
Vanessa immediately changed her expression.
“She attacked me!”
Daniel rushed forward.
Olivia reached toward him.
“She wants the trust code.”
Vanessa shook her head.
“She’s confused. She accused me of having an affair with you and became violent.”
“Call an ambulance,” Olivia cried.
Daniel pulled out his phone.
No signal.
He moved toward the landline.
Dead.
“What happened to the phones?”
Vanessa pointed at the damaged security panel.
“Olivia threw something at it.”
“That’s a lie.”
Daniel looked between them.
“Enough!”
His voice filled the room.
Vanessa flinched.
Olivia grabbed his sleeve.
“The babies are coming.”
Daniel knelt beside her.
“I’m taking you to the hospital.”
He lifted her carefully.
Vanessa moved toward the front door.
“The electronic locks are malfunctioning.”
Daniel stared at her.
“You came through that door.”
“It locked after me.”
“Then unlock it.”
“I don’t have the code.”
“You worked for Bennett Security for two years.”
“I worked in legal compliance.”
Daniel carried Olivia to the door and entered his access sequence.
ACCESS DENIED
He tried the emergency release.
The door remained locked.
“What did you do?” he asked Vanessa.
“Nothing.”
Daniel entered another sequence.
Still nothing.
His phone vibrated.
A video notification appeared.
He almost ignored it.
Then he saw the preview image.
Vanessa standing over Olivia.
Daniel touched the screen.
The recording began with a timestamp from thirteen minutes earlier.
Vanessa demanded the trust code.
She struck Olivia.
Dragged her by the hair.
Threatened her children.
Daniel watched in horrified silence.
Vanessa saw the screen.
“That’s impossible.”
The recording continued until the moment she destroyed the hallway camera.
The angle remained perfectly stable.
Daniel slowly looked at the broken device beneath her heel.
Then at the video.
“Who recorded this?”
Another notification arrived.
The file had been uploaded to eleven people.
At the bottom of the screen appeared a single message.
You are watching the wrong woman.
Vanessa’s face lost all color.
Daniel noticed.
“You know what that means.”
“No.”
“You reacted.”
“I didn’t.”
“Who sent this?”
Vanessa backed away.
Daniel lowered Olivia onto the sofa and moved toward her.
“Who sent the video?”
“I don’t know.”
“You do.”
“I said I don’t know!”
Her voice cracked.
Daniel stared at her.
“What are you afraid of?”
Vanessa looked toward the broken camera.
Then toward the ceiling.
Someone was still watching them.
Someone had anticipated everything.
Her lips parted.
“No one should know that sentence.”
Daniel stepped closer.
“What sentence?”
Vanessa’s eyes filled with a fear Olivia had never seen before.
“She used to say it.”
“Who?”
Vanessa did not answer.
Daniel grabbed her arm.
“Who used to say it?”
Vanessa whispered a name.
“Claire.”
Olivia looked at Daniel.
His grip loosened.
The name had changed him.
“Who is Claire?” Olivia asked.
Daniel stared at Vanessa.
Vanessa gave a broken laugh.
“Ask your husband.”
Daniel’s face went pale.
Olivia looked from one to the other.
“Daniel?”
He did not answer.
Vanessa slowly smiled despite her fear.
“You never told her.”
Olivia’s voice became quiet.
“Told me what?”
Daniel looked at his pregnant wife.
Before he could speak, every television in the mansion turned on.
The same video began playing on each screen.
But this version continued beyond the moment the hallway camera had been destroyed.
It showed Daniel entering.
It showed Vanessa lying.
It showed the three of them staring at the phone.
The recording was live.
Words appeared over the image.
CLAIRE BENNETT DID NOT DIE IN AN ACCIDENT.
Olivia stared at the screen.
Vanessa stepped backward.
Daniel whispered,
“Turn it off.”
The words changed.
DANIEL KNOWS WHY.
Olivia looked directly at her husband.
“What does that mean?”
Daniel stood motionless.
May you like
A final sentence appeared.
ASK HIM WHAT HAPPENED THE NIGHT HIS FIRST WIFE DIED.
