Chapter 2 - The Missing Footage
The private hospital cleared an entire floor before Victor arrived.
Doctors rushed Ethan into an examination room.
Victor stood outside the glass doors with blood on the sleeve of his coat.
It was not his blood.
It belonged to his son.
Lily sat in a wheelchair nearby.
A nurse tried to examine the bruise spreading across her abdomen.
Lily kept looking toward the treatment room.
“You may have internal injuries.”
“I’m fine.”
“You were kicked hard enough to lose consciousness.”
“I did not lose consciousness.”
“You nearly did.”
Lily looked at the nurse.
“I need to know whether Ethan is alive.”
The nurse softened.
“The doctors are helping him.”
Victor heard every word.
He turned away from the treatment room.
“Examine her properly.”
Lily shook her head.
“The memory card.”
“My people are checking it.”
“Serena may have changed it.”
Victor’s jaw tightened.
“I know.”
For the first time, Lily understood that Victor did not trust Serena completely.
But he did not trust Lily completely either.
That uncertainty frightened her more than anger.
The doors opened.
Dr. Reeves stepped into the corridor.
Victor moved toward him.
“How bad?”
“The arm is fractured.”
Victor’s hands curled into fists.
“He also has bruising around the ribs.”
Lily stopped breathing.
“From today?”
Dr. Reeves looked at her.
“No.”
Victor’s voice lowered.
“How old?”
“Some are several days old.”
“Others may be older.”
Victor stared at the doctor.
“You examined him last week.”
Dr. Reeves looked uncomfortable.
“Yes.”
“And you told me he was healthy.”
“I did not see these injuries then.”
Lily rose unsteadily from the wheelchair.
“They were covered.”
Everyone turned toward her.
“Serena started dressing him in long sleeves.”
“She said the house was cold.”
Victor looked at the doctor.
“Remove every layer.”
“Document everything.”
“Photograph every mark.”
Dr. Reeves nodded and returned to the room.
Victor turned toward Lily.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
The question struck harder than Serena’s heel.
“I tried.”
“When?”
“Three weeks ago.”
Victor shook his head.
“You never spoke to me.”
“I called your office.”
“Damon answered.”
Victor’s expression shifted.
Damon Cross was his closest adviser.
His oldest friend.
The man who controlled access to Victor when business became dangerous.
“What did Damon say?”
“He told me you were overseas.”
“He said Serena had already complained that I was unstable.”
Victor’s eyes hardened.
“He told me never to contact you directly again.”
The elevator doors opened.
Damon stepped into the corridor.
He wore a charcoal suit and the concerned expression of a loyal friend.
“I came as soon as I heard.”
Lily went silent.
Damon glanced at her.
Only once.
But the warning in his eyes was unmistakable.
Victor noticed.
“Did Lily call my office three weeks ago?”
Damon did not hesitate.
“No.”
Lily stared at him.
“That’s a lie.”
Damon sighed.
“She has called several times.”
“Usually crying.”
“She claimed Serena was watching her.”
“She claimed people were entering her room.”
“None of it made sense.”
“That isn’t true.”
Damon looked at Victor.
“She became emotionally attached to Ethan.”
“I was concerned she might become possessive.”
Victor remained still.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I did not want to bother you during the negotiations.”
“My son’s safety is not a bother.”
Damon lowered his head.
“You are right.”
“I made the wrong judgment.”
The elevator opened again.
Victor’s security chief approached with a laptop.
“We recovered the contents of the memory card.”
Serena arrived behind him, escorted by two guards.
She had changed her shoes.
Lily noticed immediately.
The bloodstained heels were gone.
Victor noticed that too.
“Where are your shoes?”
Serena looked down.
“They were uncomfortable.”
Victor turned toward a guard.
“Find them.”
Serena’s face tightened.
The security chief placed the laptop on a table.
“There is only one video.”
He pressed play.
The image showed Ethan’s nursery.
The timestamp read 2:14 that afternoon.
Lily appeared beside the crib.
She was holding Ethan.
The video had no sound.
Lily looked distressed.
She glanced toward the door.
Then she moved out of view.
Seconds later, Ethan began to cry.
Lily reappeared.
Her arm moved sharply.
The camera angle made it look as though she struck him.
Serena covered her mouth.
“Oh my God.”
“That is not what happened.”
Lily moved toward the laptop.
Damon blocked her.
“Stay back.”
“The footage was edited.”
Lily pointed at the screen.
“Look at the clock.”
Victor looked.
The timestamp jumped from 2:14:09 to 2:14:17.
Eight seconds were missing.
The security chief replayed the section.
Lily’s movement looked violent.
But the cut was visible.
“Can it be restored?” Victor asked.
“Possibly.”
Damon stepped closer.
“Victor, we already have enough.”
“No.”
Victor’s response was immediate.
“We have a damaged recording.”
Damon glanced at Serena.
The look lasted less than a second.
Lily saw it.
Victor saw it too.
Dr. Reeves returned.
His face was pale.
“There is something else.”
Victor turned.
The doctor held a laboratory request form.
“We tested Ethan’s blood because of his breathing difficulty.”
“And?”
“There are traces of a strong sedative in his system.”
Serena looked at Lily.
“She gives him his medicine.”
Lily felt every eye turn toward her.
“I have never given him a sedative.”
Damon reached into his coat.
He removed a small prescription bottle.
“We found this in Lily’s room.”
Lily recognized the bottle immediately.
It had not been there that morning.
Her name was printed on the label.
Victor took it.
The medication matched the substance in Ethan’s blood.
Damon looked at the police officers approaching from the elevator.
“I think we know what happened.”
Victor said nothing.
Lily stared at the bottle in his hand.
Serena stood behind him.
Her eyes were calm again.
Then Victor looked at Lily.
“Tell me why your name is on this.”
Lily’s mouth went dry.
Before she could answer, one of the officers stepped forward.
May you like
“Lily Harper, you need to come with us.”
And for the first time since Victor had entered the mansion, Serena smiled without hiding it.
