Chapter 2 - The Camera Nobody Was Supposed to SeeThe hospital doctor closed the examination-room door behind him.
Alessandra sat beside Caleb's bed.
The boy was asleep.
His ribs were bruised but not broken.
His breathing had stabilized.
The doctor assured her that he would recover.
But Alessandra barely heard him.
She kept staring at the report.
There was another injury.
Old bruising.
Marks on the wrist.
Not from tonight.
Older.
Several weeks older.
Her fingers tightened around the paper.
“How long?”
The doctor looked uncomfortable.
“These marks did not happen today.”
“How long?”
“Possibly several weeks.”
Alessandra closed her eyes.
She remembered all the times Caleb had suddenly refused to visit his grandmother.
The times he'd said he didn't want to go downstairs.
The times he had woken crying.
She had thought he was simply four.
She had been wrong.
Her phone vibrated.
Unknown number.
She answered.
“Who is this?”
Silence.
Then a man's voice.
“Don't take Caleb back to the estate.”
Alessandra stood.
“Who are you?”
“Check the old nursery.”
“Who are you?”
“Look behind the painting with the blue horse.”
The call ended.
Alessandra stared at the screen.
She didn't tell her security team.
Not yet.
She waited until Caleb was transferred to a private recovery room, then drove back to the estate.
She entered through the rear entrance.
The mansion was nearly silent.
The main family rooms were dark.
Alessandra went upstairs.
Past the gallery.
Past the portraits.
Past the nursery.
The painting was still there.
A faded blue horse on a yellow field.
She pulled it from the wall.
Behind it was a small camera.
Her heart slammed against her ribs.
She removed it.
A tiny memory card was still inside.
She returned to her car before viewing it.
The first video showed the nursery.
Caleb sat on the floor, drawing.
Then Mason entered.
He said something.
Caleb shook his head.
Mason stepped closer.
The recording had no sound.
Mason pointed at the door.
Caleb stood.
He looked frightened.
Then Bianca appeared.
She took the paper from Caleb.
Mason laughed.
Alessandra skipped forward.
Another date.
Caleb was sitting on the floor again.
Francesca entered.
The child looked up.
She said something.
Caleb's shoulders dropped.
Then Francesca pointed toward the corner.
Caleb moved there.
Alessandra stopped the video.
She couldn't breathe.
Then she noticed another file.
It had been hidden inside a folder named OLD INVENTORY.
She opened it.
A meeting room appeared.
Francesca sat with Vincent.
Bianca was there.
And another man.
A man Alessandra recognized immediately.
Rafael Moretti.
Her father's former accountant.
Long believed dead.
Alessandra leaned toward the screen.
Rafael placed a black ledger on the table.
Francesca said something.
This time, the audio worked.
“You promised me the boy would remain irrelevant.”
Rafael answered.
“He will.”
“Then why is Alessandra investigating?”
“She isn't.”
“She will.”
Rafael looked toward the camera.
It was almost as if he knew someone might someday watch the recording.
Then he said:
“Her son heard something.”
Alessandra froze.
The video continued.
Francesca's voice became quieter.
“What exactly?”
“Enough to become dangerous.”
The screen went black.
Alessandra stared.
The room in the recording had been her father's old study.
A place sealed after his death.
A place nobody was allowed to enter.
She grabbed her keys.
But before she could start the engine, her phone rang.
This time it was Vincent.
“You went back.”
Alessandra said nothing.
“You shouldn't have.”
“Why?”
“Because now they know.”
“Know what?”
Vincent was silent.
Then:
“Caleb wasn't supposed to survive the night.”
Her blood turned cold.
“What did you say?”
“I said he wasn't supposed to survive the night.”
“Who ordered it?”
Vincent hung up.
Alessandra stared at the phone.
Then another notification appeared.
A new video file had been uploaded.
No sender.
No title.
She opened it.
The image showed the dining room from a hidden angle.
She watched herself entering.
She watched Mason strike Caleb.
She watched Francesca take away her phone.
Then the video continued after Alessandra left.
Someone entered the room.
Someone carrying a black leather briefcase.
The person's face was hidden.
He knelt beside the broken chair.
And pulled something out from underneath it.
A small metal key.
Alessandra whispered:
“What is that?”
Then the camera turned slightly.
The person looked directly into the lens.
And smiled.
The video ended.
Alessandra's phone rang immediately.
She answered.
A woman's voice whispered:
“Now you know why your father died.”
Alessandra's hand went numb.
“Who are you?”
A pause.
Then:
“Ask your mother who locked him in the basement.”
The call ended.
Alessandra looked toward the mansion.
Every light was off.
Except one.
The basement window.
A faint yellow glow burned beneath the ground.
May you like
Someone was down there.
And they were waiting.
Related Stories
