Chapter 4 - I spent the next six hours at the hospital.Tommy lay beneath a web of wires and tubes.
Every time the monitor beeped, I felt my heart answer.
Lily slept against my shoulder.
She had refused to let go of me.
Claire sat across the waiting room.
She hadn't spoken since we arrived.
Marcus was gone.
He said he had to “take care of something.”
I didn't trust him anymore.
I didn't trust anyone.
At 3:14 a.m., the doctor came out.
“His condition is stable.”
I closed my eyes.
“Can I see him?”
“Yes.”
I entered the room alone.
Tommy was so small beneath the blankets.
I touched his hand.
“I'm sorry.”
The words broke something inside me.
“I should have seen it.”
His fingers moved.
Barely.
But enough.
I leaned closer.
“Daddy's here.”
Behind me, Lily whispered,
“He was scared.”
I turned.
She stood in the doorway.
“What happened?”
Lily looked at Tommy.
“Mommy would put him in the room whenever he cried.”
“How often?”
“Almost every day.”
My stomach twisted.
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Mommy said you would get mad at me.”
“I would never be mad at you.”
“She said you would take Tommy away.”
I crouched beside her.
“Lily, I need the truth.”
She nodded.
“Did someone else come here?”
She hesitated.
“Yes.”
“Who?”
“A man.”
“What did he look like?”
“I don't know.”
“Did you see his face?”
“Sometimes.”
“What did he do?”
“He talked to Mommy.”
“What did he say?”
Lily lowered her eyes.
“He said Daddy had to disappear.”
My blood froze.
“Did Mommy agree?”
Lily whispered,
“She said... she was trying.”
I stood.
Trying to make me disappear.
I looked through the glass at Claire in the waiting room.
She was staring at us.
Her expression was unreadable.
Then my phone vibrated.
Unknown number.
One message.
CHECK THE BACK OF YOUR FATHER'S WATCH.
I immediately thought of the old watch in my bedroom.
The one my father had given me when I turned eighteen.
I hadn't worn it in years.
I called Marcus.
No answer.
I called again.
Still nothing.
I left Lily with a nurse and drove home.
The house was empty.
I entered my bedroom.
Opened the drawer.
The watch was still there.
I turned it over.
Nothing.
I tapped the back.
A faint metallic click.
I froze.
The back opened.
Inside was a microSD card.
I stared at it.
My father's watch had hidden a memory card for years.
I inserted it into my laptop.
There were 37 files.
Videos.
The oldest was dated eleven years ago.
I clicked.
My father's face appeared on the screen.
He looked directly into the camera.
“Ethan, if you're watching this, I'm already dead.”
I stopped breathing.
He continued.
“I don't know who will show this to you. But there's one thing you need to understand.”
His expression was serious.
“Your family is not safe.”
The video ended.
Another began.
My father was older.
Tired.
Angrier.
“They will try to use Claire.”
I stared at the screen.
“Not because she loves you.”
My blood ran cold.
“But because she is scared.”
The next file loaded automatically.
This one showed a room I recognized.
The storage room.
The footage was dated two months earlier.
Claire entered.
She carried Tommy.
My hand tightened around the desk.
She placed him on the mattress.
Then a man walked into frame.
I leaned closer.
The video quality was poor.
But the man's wrist was visible.
A silver watch.
My heart stopped.
I knew that watch.
Marcus wore one exactly like it.
I watched as the man crouched beside Claire.
He handed her an envelope.
She opened it.
Inside was a photograph.
The camera angle showed only the back.
Claire whispered,
“What if Ethan finds out?”
The man answered,
“He won't.”
His voice.
I knew that voice.
It was not Marcus.
It belonged to someone much closer to me.
Someone I had trusted for years.
Someone whose name made the room seem suddenly smaller.
I paused the video.
The man's hand moved into the light.
A wedding ring.
My wedding ring had been purchased as a matching pair.
And the man in the footage was wearing the second one.
Mine.
I stared at my own hand.
Then slowly looked at the screen.
The man had stolen my father's watch.
But he was wearing my ring.
I checked the next file.
A single sentence appeared before the video began.
YOUR WIFE DIDN'T START THIS.
The screen went black.
Then another line appeared.
YOUR WIFE WAS TRYING TO SURVIVE IT.
I whispered,
“Then who was controlling her?”
The laptop camera light turned on.
Someone was accessing my computer remotely.
A message appeared on screen.
YOU SHOULD HAVE STAYED AT THE HOSPITAL.
I heard the front door open.
Someone was inside my house.
May you like
And this time...
I knew they were coming for me.
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