Chapter 5 - Olivia had been keeping a secret for seven months.She led them to the small library and closed the door.
Adrian stood opposite her.
"Talk."
Olivia looked at Elena.
"I didn't know who to trust."
Adrian swallowed.
"You could have trusted me."
"No."
The word came without hesitation.
"You wouldn't have believed me."
Elena felt the accusation land.
Adrian looked down.
"You're right."
Olivia opened her backpack.
She removed a notebook.
Inside were dates.
Times.
Names.
Photographs.
And descriptions of things she had seen inside the house.
A man entering the study.
A woman crying.
The basement door opening by itself.
A black car arriving at 2:17 a.m.
Adrian turned page after page.
"How long have you been tracking this?"
"Seven months."
"Why?"
"Because someone told me to."
"Who?"
Olivia hesitated.
"He called himself Noah."
Maya's expression tightened.
"Was he young?"
"I don't know."
"Did you ever see him?"
"No."
"How did he contact you?"
"Notes."
She handed Elena one.
The handwriting was precise.
WATCH THE WEST HALL AT 2:17.
Another:
DON'T TELL YOUR FATHER.
Another:
THE WOMAN WILL MOVE SOON.
Adrian read them.
"Vanessa."
Olivia shook her head.
"I thought so."
"But?"
"Then I saw someone else."
She pointed toward a photograph.
A blurry figure stood in the west hallway.
Not Vanessa.
Not Adrian.
A man wearing a dark coat.
The same man from the gate.
Elena stared at the image.
"Who is Noah?"
"I don't know."
Adrian looked at the clock.
"What happens at 2:17?"
Olivia looked at Maya.
"The system resets."
Maya nodded.
"At exactly 2:17 every morning, one camera disappears for ninety seconds."
"Which one?"
"The nursery."
Adrian's face went hard.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
Olivia's eyes filled.
"Because that's when Emma disappeared the first time."
Elena stared.
"What?"
"Before you came here."
Olivia swallowed.
"Three weeks ago, Emma vanished for ninety seconds."
Adrian shook his head.
"No."
"I found her in the laundry room."
"She never left the nursery."
"I watched the camera."
The room went silent.
"The camera showed Emma sleeping."
Olivia whispered.
"But I was holding her somewhere else."
Maya sat down.
"That means the entire nursery feed is fake."
Adrian's phone rang.
No number.
He answered.
"Where is my daughter?"
A voice replied.
"You found the first child."
Adrian frowned.
"What does that mean?"
"You've been asking the wrong question."
"Who are you?"
"You know."
"No."
"You just don't remember."
The call ended.
Maya stood.
"We should leave the house."
Adrian looked at her.
"Why?"
"Because we're trapped inside a system somebody else controls."
Elena nodded.
"We can't trust the cameras."
"We can't trust the doors," Maya added.
"Or the phones."
Olivia stared at the window.
"Then how do we know we can trust each other?"
No one answered.
At that moment, every light in the house turned red.
A recorded voice came from the ceiling.
"Good morning, Mr. Vale."
Adrian looked upward.
The voice was his father's.
"Welcome home."
The walls began displaying old photographs.
Adrian as a child.
His father.
A woman Elena didn't recognize.
And a little girl.
Adrian stepped closer to the wall.
The little girl looked about six years old.
She had his eyes.
Elena touched the photograph.
"Who is she?"
Adrian whispered.
"I don't know."
The screen changed.
A hospital room.
A woman giving birth.
A baby crying.
The timestamp showed twelve years ago.
Then the camera angle shifted.
A man entered.
He took the baby.
He looked into the camera.
It was Daniel Vale.
Adrian backed away.
"He's alive."
The voice returned.
"Daniel never died."
Elena turned to him.
"Then what happened twelve years ago?"
Adrian stared at the screen.
His face had become empty.
"I was told my brother killed himself."
Maya looked at him.
"He had a brother?"
Adrian nodded.
"Daniel."
"Why did you say you had no brother?"
"Because my father made everyone erase him."
The screen went black.
Then one sentence appeared.
DANIEL DID NOT TAKE THE CHILD. ADRIAN DID.
Elena looked at Adrian.
"No."
He shook his head.
"I don't remember."
Another sentence appeared.
YOU WILL.
Upstairs, a door slammed.
Olivia grabbed Elena's hand.
"Someone is in the house."
Adrian drew his gun.
This time, from above them, came a child's voice.
"Mom?"
Elena froze.
That voice wasn't Emma's.
May you like
It belonged to a little girl.
And it was calling for Vanessa.
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