Chapter 4: The Recording
At 2:17 a.m., Lily woke to a sound outside her bedroom.
Footsteps.
Soft.
Careful.
Her bedroom door slowly opened.
Victoria.
She smiled gently.
"I brought you warm milk."
Lily pulled the blanket tighter.
"I don't want it."
Victoria stepped closer.
"You've had such a scary day."
"We should keep certain things... between us."
Lily didn't answer.
Victoria's smile slowly disappeared.
"You understand me, don't you?"
Before she could take another step—
Arthur appeared in the doorway.
"What are you doing?"
Victoria froze.
"I was checking on her."
Arthur walked between them without another word.
His eyes never left Victoria.
"Leave."
She did.
But the look she gave Lily promised something far worse than anger.
The next morning, Detective Hale received a call.
"I found something."
It came from the mansion's retired security technician.
"There was one camera everyone forgot."
"Where?"
"The old elevator."
"It records the second-floor hallway."
Marcus was already running.
The damaged hard drive took hours to recover.
Frame by frame...
The video slowly appeared.
Eleanor walking toward Victoria.
They argued.
No audio.
Only expressions.
Eleanor pointed toward the front door.
Leave.
Victoria smiled.
Then—
Both hands slammed into Eleanor's chest.
The older woman disappeared over the railing.
The recording froze.
Nobody inside the room spoke.
Finally Arthur whispered,
"My God..."
Marcus immediately reached for his phone.
"Issue the arrest warrant."
But Victoria was already gone.
The guest room was empty.
The burner phone was smashed.
The passport missing.
Only one handwritten message remained on the mirror.
You should have protected the witness sooner.
Arthur looked toward Lily.
May you like
His heart nearly stopped.
Her bedroom was empty.
