Chapter 2: The Forgotten Camera
The rain began before sunrise.
Heavy drops struck the stained-glass windows of Parker Mansion, turning the grand estate into a fortress wrapped in gray mist. Thunder rolled across the hills, but inside the mansion another storm was quietly building.
Daniel Parker had not slept.
He stood alone in his father's old study, staring at the family portrait hanging above the fireplace.
His late father, Richard Parker, smiled proudly in the painting, one hand resting on Daniel's shoulder. Beside him stood Victoria, elegant as always, wearing the perfect smile that had fooled nearly everyone for twenty years.
Daniel had admired that smile since childhood.
Now it unsettled him.
He replayed the previous day over and over.
Emily insisting someone had pushed her.
The deleted security footage.
Victoria being one of only three people with administrator access.
It wasn't proof.
But it was enough to make him ask questions he had never imagined asking.
A knock interrupted his thoughts.
Marcus entered carrying a laptop.
"Sir."
Daniel turned immediately.
"Did they recover the footage?"
Marcus shook his head.
"The main server was professionally wiped."
Daniel's face darkened.
"So it's gone."
"Not exactly."
Marcus hesitated.
"The forensic specialist found something unusual."
"What?"
"The deletion happened less than fifteen minutes after Mrs. Parker's fall."
Daniel frowned.
"Someone deleted it almost immediately?"
"Yes."
"And whoever did it knew exactly which file to erase."
Silence settled between them.
Accidents didn't erase themselves.
Someone had acted with purpose.
Someone had been afraid of what the camera had recorded.
Just then another voice came from the hallway.
"Mr. Parker?"
It was George, the estate's maintenance supervisor.
The sixty-three-year-old had worked for the Parker family longer than Daniel had been alive.
"What is it, George?"
"I overheard Mr. Marcus talking about the security system."
Daniel nodded.
"Go on."
George scratched the back of his neck.
"I don't know if it matters... but years ago your father installed an independent camera."
Marcus looked surprised.
"What independent camera?"
George smiled faintly.
"The old maintenance camera."
Marcus blinked.
"I thought that was removed."
"No."
"It stopped connecting to the network years ago."
"So everyone forgot about it."
Daniel stepped closer.
"Where is it?"
"It overlooks the staircase."
Both men froze.
George continued.
"Your father insisted on keeping it because he never trusted computers."
"He said every important recording should have a backup."
Marcus suddenly remembered.
"The hidden DVR..."
George nodded.
"In the maintenance room."
Daniel's heartbeat quickened.
"Take me there."
The maintenance room sat beneath the east wing of the mansion.
Dust covered forgotten shelves.
Old electrical panels hummed softly.
Boxes labeled from decades earlier lined the walls.
George walked directly toward a rusted metal cabinet.
"I haven't opened this in years."
He unlocked it.
Inside sat a small black recording unit no larger than a shoebox.
Its tiny green light still blinked.
Marcus stared.
"It's still running."
George smiled proudly.
"Told you."
Daniel almost couldn't breathe.
"If this works..."
Marcus carefully disconnected the hard drive.
"We'll know exactly what happened."
Meanwhile...
Across town...
Victoria Parker entered Emily's hospital room carrying white lilies.
She smiled warmly.
"My dear."
Emily forced a smile.
"Victoria."
"You gave us quite a fright."
Victoria gently placed the flowers beside the bed.
"I barely slept."
Emily studied her face carefully.
Every expression looked perfect.
Too perfect.
"I'm sorry everyone worried."
Victoria reached down and squeezed Emily's hand.
"You mustn't blame yourself."
"Pregnant women lose their balance."
Emily didn't answer.
Victoria tilted her head.
"You remember slipping, don't you?"
Emily looked directly into her eyes.
"I remember someone touching me."
For the first time...
Victoria's smile froze.
Only for a heartbeat.
Then it returned.
"Oh, sweetheart."
"Trauma can confuse memories."
Emily said quietly,
"I smelled your perfume."
Silence.
Victoria laughed softly.
"My perfume?"
"You hugged me before dinner."
"Perhaps that's why."
Emily didn't reply.
The room suddenly felt cold.
Victoria leaned closer.
"You should focus on your baby."
"Stress isn't good for either of you."
Her voice sounded gentle.
Yet somehow...
It felt like a warning.
Across the city, digital forensic expert Noah Briggs connected the forgotten hard drive to his workstation.
Marcus and Daniel stood behind him.
No one spoke.
The loading bar crawled painfully across the screen.
Ten percent.
Thirty percent.
Sixty.
Finally...
A video appeared.
Timestamp:
6:42 PM
Daniel whispered,
"That's it."
Noah clicked Play.
The staircase appeared.
Crystal chandelier.
Marble floor.
Perfect quality.
Emily entered from the upstairs hallway carrying a folded baby blanket.
Daniel watched silently.
Emily smiled to herself, gently rubbing her stomach.
She looked peaceful.
Happy.
No one else appeared.
She reached the staircase.
Started descending.
Marcus frowned.
"So far she's alone."
Daniel nodded.
"Keep watching."
Emily reached the fifth step.
Suddenly...
A shadow appeared.
Noah froze the frame.
"Wait."
He zoomed in.
The image became grainy.
A figure stood partially hidden behind one of the large marble columns.
Only half a body was visible.
Black clothing.
Gloves.
Face concealed.
Daniel whispered,
"Who is that?"
Noah resumed playback.
The figure moved.
Fast.
Silent.
Three steps.
Two.
One.
Then—
The gloved hand reached toward Emily's back.
A shove.
Small.
Precise.
Almost invisible.
Emily lurched forward.
Her feet slipped.
She grabbed the railing at the last possible second.
The attacker immediately stepped backward into the blind spot beside the staircase.
Gone.
Daniel couldn't move.
Marcus stared in horror.
"My God..."
Emily hadn't imagined anything.
Someone had pushed her.
Noah replayed the footage frame by frame.
"The attacker knew exactly where the camera's blind spot began."
Marcus nodded slowly.
"That wasn't random."
Daniel's jaw tightened.
"They knew the house."
"They knew the cameras."
"They knew Emily's routine."
Marcus looked at him carefully.
"Someone inside."
Daniel didn't answer.
He already feared the same conclusion.
Noah enhanced another frame.
"There's something else."
Everyone leaned closer.
The attacker wore black leather gloves.
But beneath the sleeve...
A bracelet briefly appeared.
Silver.
Decorated with emerald stones.
Only for half a second.
Daniel's eyes widened.
He recognized it instantly.
Victoria owned an identical bracelet.
It had belonged to his late father.
He had given it to her on their tenth wedding anniversary.
No one else in the family wore one like it.
Marcus noticed Daniel's expression.
"You know that bracelet."
Daniel remained silent.
He wasn't ready to accuse anyone.
Not yet.
At the hospital, Emily received a text from Daniel.
We found another camera.
Her heart skipped.
Another message arrived.
Don't tell anyone.
Then another.
I'm coming to get you.
Emily stared at the phone.
Fear mixed with hope.
If another camera existed...
Then maybe...
She wasn't crazy after all.
That evening Daniel drove to the hospital himself.
He entered Emily's room carrying no flowers.
Only determination.
Emily looked at his face.
"You know."
Daniel nodded.
"I was wrong."
Her eyes filled with tears.
"You believed me?"
"I do now."
"What happened?"
Daniel closed the door.
Then quietly opened his laptop.
"I need you to watch something."
Emily held her breath.
The video began.
She watched herself walking downstairs.
Watched the shadow emerge.
Watched the gloved hand.
Watched herself nearly lose everything.
By the end of the recording...
She was crying silently.
"I told you..."
Daniel knelt beside her bed.
"I'm sorry I doubted you."
Emily grabbed his hand tightly.
"Who is it?"
Daniel hesitated.
"We don't know."
"But..."
He paused.
"There may be someone we need to investigate."
Emily searched his eyes.
"Victoria?"
Daniel looked away.
"I don't want to believe it."
"Neither do I."
"But if she's innocent..."
"Then why was the first recording deleted?"
Neither of them had an answer.
Back at Parker Mansion, Victoria entered her bedroom.
She poured herself a glass of wine.
Then another.
Something felt wrong.
Too many things had happened that day.
Marcus seemed nervous.
Daniel had barely spoken to her.
The servants whispered when she walked past.
She picked up the disposable phone again.
No answer.
She called twice.
Still nothing.
Her fingers tightened around the glass.
Suddenly...
Her bedroom door opened.
She spun around.
Lily, the young housemaid, stood there nervously.
"I'm sorry, Mrs. Parker."
"I knocked."
"I... I brought your evening tea."
Victoria forced a smile.
"Thank you."
Lily placed the tray on the table.
As she turned to leave, Victoria noticed something.
The girl looked frightened.
Very frightened.
"Lily."
The maid stopped.
"Yes, ma'am?"
"Is something bothering you?"
Lily hesitated.
Then shook her head.
"No, ma'am."
Victoria smiled again.
But this time...
Her eyes remained cold.
She watched the girl leave.
Then slowly whispered to herself,
"She heard something."
Outside the bedroom door, Lily hurried down the hallway, her heart pounding.
She had indeed heard something.
Not today.
Yesterday.
"The next opportunity."
Now Emily had survived.
And someone had erased the security footage.
Lily no longer believed it had been an accident.
She wanted to tell Daniel everything.
But she was terrified.
Because if Victoria really had tried to kill Emily...
Then anyone who knew the truth could become the next target.
And somewhere in the darkness beyond the mansion gates...
A black SUV remained parked with its headlights off.
Inside, a man wearing leather gloves watched the house through binoculars.
His phone buzzed.
May you like
One message appeared.
The footage survived. Finish the job before the baby is born.
