Chapter 4 - THE CAMERA IN THE WALL
At lunch, Vanessa was cheerful.
Too cheerful.
She poured lemonade into my glass.
“You were in the greenhouse for a long time.”
“I like roses.”
“With Arthur?”
“He was working.”
Dad looked up.
“Everything okay?”
Vanessa smiled.
“Of course.”
Under the table, her shoe pressed against mine.
A warning.
That afternoon, Arthur vanished.
His room was empty.
His clothes were gone.
Dad said Arthur had retired suddenly.
I didn’t believe him.
That night, I searched Arthur’s room.
Nothing.
Then I noticed a tiny hole in the wall above his desk.
A camera.
I climbed onto a chair.
Inside the vent was a wire connected to a small recording device.
Vanessa had been watching him.
Maybe all of us.
I pulled out the memory card.
Footsteps came down the hall.
I shoved the card into my sock.
Dad entered.
“What are you doing?”
“I wanted to find Arthur.”
“He left.”
“Without saying goodbye?”
Dad’s expression softened.
“Sometimes adults make complicated choices.”
“Did Mom make a complicated choice?”
His face tightened.
“What?”
“Before she died.”
He crouched.
“Why are you asking about your mother?”
I almost told him about the necklace.
Instead I said, “I miss her.”
Dad hugged me.
But his hand trembled against my back.
That night, I used my old tablet to read the memory card.
Most recordings were boring.
Hallways.
Empty rooms.
Arthur making tea.
Then I found one dated three days before the wedding.
Vanessa entered Arthur’s room.
“You need to stop encouraging Clara.”
Arthur remained calm.
“She deserves the truth.”
“She’s a child.”
“She is Evelyn’s daughter.”
Vanessa stepped closer.
“Evelyn is dead.”
Arthur looked directly at the camera.
“No, Mrs. Whitmore.”
Vanessa froze.
Arthur continued.
“And I believe that scares you more than anything.”
The recording suddenly cut out.
Then another file appeared.
Recorded the night before the wedding.
Arthur sat alone at his desk.
He looked into the hidden camera.
“If Clara finds this, tell her the lake house has the answer.”
Behind him, the bedroom door slowly opened.
May you like
Dad walked in.
And he was holding a gun.
