CHAPTER 3 — THE VIDEO THAT SHOULD NOT EXIST
A sound interrupted everything.
Footsteps.
Fast.
Heavy.
Controlled urgency.
Nathaniel Whitmore arrived.
He stopped at the base of the staircase.
One look.
And the entire atmosphere changed again.
Because now authority had entered the room.
Vivian’s expression softened immediately.
Tragedy replaced tension.
“Thank God you’re here,” she said. “Your mother—she fell. Rosa panicked and—”
“Stop.”
Nathaniel’s voice was quiet.
But it cut through everything.
He looked at Margaret.
Then Rosa.
Then the child.
The child didn’t look away.
That was the moment he noticed.
Children normally do.
This one didn’t.
“Did you see it?” Nathaniel asked her.
A pause.
Then she nodded.
“Yes.”
No hesitation.
No fear of adults.
Just fact.
Vivian stepped closer.
“That is ridiculous—she’s confusing what she imagined with—”
“Enough,” Nathaniel said again.
Then he turned slightly.
“To security. Show me the hallway cameras.”
Vivian froze.
Just for half a second.
But Rosa saw it.
The first crack.
May you like
Because Vivian had assumed something important.
That no one would check.
