Chapter 2 - The Red Light
Daniel drove home with Lily asleep in the back seat and every nerve in his body burning.
A camera.
There was no camera in Lily’s bedroom.
At least, there wasn’t supposed to be.
When Claire was alive, they had used a baby monitor. After Lily turned two, Daniel removed it because Claire hated the idea of their daughter growing up under constant surveillance.
At a red light, Daniel called his older sister, Rachel.
“I need you at the house.”
Rachel heard his voice and did not waste time asking questions.
“Ten minutes.”
“Bring Mom.”
A pause.
“That bad?”
“Worse.”
When Daniel pulled into the driveway, Vanessa’s white SUV was gone.
Good.
He carried Lily inside.
Rachel arrived with their mother, Margaret, before he had even taken off his coat.
Margaret saw Lily’s swollen eyes and went pale.
“What happened?”
Daniel told them.
Rachel’s jaw tightened.
“She grabbed her by the hair?”
“In front of Claire’s grave.”
Margaret sat down hard at the kitchen table.
Daniel continued.
“Lily said there’s a camera in her room.”
Rachel was already standing.
“Show me.”
They went upstairs.
Lily’s room looked exactly as Daniel had left it that morning: pink quilt, stuffed rabbit, wooden dollhouse, cloud-shaped night-light.
Rachel checked the obvious places first.
Nothing.
Then Margaret pointed toward a new smoke detector in the corner.
“That wasn’t there last month.”
Daniel climbed onto a chair.
The plastic housing came loose with one twist.
Inside was a small black lens.
No smoke sensor.
No alarm.
Just a camera.
Rachel swore under her breath.
Daniel stared at it.
“Why would she hide a camera in Lily’s room?”
Rachel looked at him sharply.
“Wrong question.”
“What?”
“Who was she recording for?”
Daniel turned the device over.
A tiny memory card was tucked inside.
His pulse jumped.
They took it downstairs and put it into Rachel’s laptop.
The folder opened.
Dozens of files.
Dates covering almost four months.
Daniel clicked the newest video.
At first, nothing happened.
Lily slept under her blanket.
Then the bedroom door opened.
Vanessa walked in at 2:11 a.m.
She stood beside Lily’s bed for nearly a minute without moving.
Daniel felt Margaret grip his shoulder.
On the screen, Vanessa leaned over the sleeping child.
“She can’t keep ruining this for me,” Vanessa muttered.
Rachel looked at Daniel.
“Did she just say—”
“Quiet.”
Vanessa opened Lily’s closet, reached behind a stack of blankets, and pulled out a small metal box Daniel had never seen.
She carried it out of the room.
The video ended.
Daniel clicked the next file.
This time Lily was awake, sitting on her bed.
Vanessa stood in the doorway.
“You tell your father everything, don’t you?”
Lily nodded.
“Not anymore.”
“Why?”
“Because Daddy has enough sadness.”
Vanessa smiled.
“Exactly. So we’re going to keep our little problems between us.”
Daniel’s hands curled into fists.
Then Lily looked directly at the hidden camera.
She whispered, “Mommy sees.”
Vanessa stepped into frame and shut off the bedroom light.
The screen went black.
Rachel reached for the keyboard.
“Daniel, there are ninety-three files.”
He swallowed.
“Play the oldest one.”
Rachel sorted by date.
The first recording was made four months earlier.
The thumbnail showed Vanessa kneeling beside Lily’s bed.
But she was not alone.
May you like
A man Daniel had never seen was standing behind her.
