CHAPTER 4: THE NIGHT LEO DISAPPEARED
The moment Victoria mentioned that night, Elena felt the air leave her lungs.
Not because she was guilty.
Because she remembered exactly what happened.
The panic.
The screaming.
The accusations.
And the way everyone looked at her like she was the only person in the room capable of doing something wrong.
Marcus stared at her.
“Elena.”
His voice was calm, but there was concern behind it.
“Tell me what she means.”
Elena looked down at Leo.
The little boy was resting quietly against her shoulder, unaware that the adults around him were reopening a painful memory.
“I can explain.”
Victoria crossed her arms.
“That’s what people say when they don’t want to tell the truth.”
Marcus’s eyes moved toward his wife.
“Victoria, stop.”
But she didn’t.
“No, Marcus. You deserve to know.”
She walked slowly across the hallway.
“That night, your son disappeared inside this house.”
Marcus’s expression darkened.
“I remember.”
“Do you remember who was supposed to be watching him?”
The silence answered before anyone did.
Elena closed her eyes.
“Yes.”
Her voice was quiet.
“Me.”
Victoria smiled.
“There it is.”
Elena looked at her.
“But I didn’t lose him.”
Victoria raised an eyebrow.
“Really?”
“No.”
Elena’s voice became stronger.
“Leo was in the west garden.”
Marcus immediately looked at her.
“The garden?”
Elena nodded.
“He followed the sound of the fountain. He opened the playroom door when nobody noticed and walked outside.”
Victoria shook her head.
“That’s not what happened.”
Elena looked directly at her.
“Because you weren’t there.”
The words surprised Victoria.
For a second, she had no answer.
Marcus noticed.
“Elena, continue.”
She took a breath.
“That evening, Leo was upset because he couldn’t find his favorite stuffed bear. I was helping him look for it. I stepped away for less than a minute to answer a call from the security team.”
Marcus frowned.
“A call?”
“Yes.”
“Why didn’t I know about that?”
“Because nobody told you.”
Victoria quickly interrupted.
“And why would nobody tell him?”
Elena looked at her.
“Because someone deleted the security alert.”
Marcus’s expression changed.
“What?”
Elena swallowed.
“When Leo was found, everyone blamed me. But I noticed something strange.”
She looked toward the hallway cameras.
“The security footage from the west hallway was missing.”
Victoria’s face remained calm.
Too calm.
Marcus noticed.
“You never told me this.”
“I tried.”
Elena’s voice softened.
“But that night, you were terrified. Everyone was focused on finding Leo. Then afterward, Mrs. Vance told me if I kept making accusations, I would lose my job.”
Marcus turned slowly toward Victoria.
“Did you say that?”
Victoria looked offended.
“Of course not.”
Elena shook her head.
“You did.”
“You expect him to believe a maid over his wife?”
Marcus didn’t answer.
And that silence bothered Victoria.
Because she was used to Marcus choosing her.
Always.
Victoria stepped closer.
“You’re really going to listen to this?”
Marcus looked at her.
“I’m listening to everyone.”
“No.”
Her voice became sharper.
“You’re looking at me like I’m the enemy.”
Marcus’s jaw tightened.
“Because right now, I don’t know what to believe.”
Those words hurt her more than the slap.
Victoria’s expression changed.
The confidence.
The arrogance.
The control.
All of it disappeared for a brief second.
Then she recovered.
“You’re making a mistake.”
Marcus ignored her.
He looked at Elena.
“Why didn’t you leave after that?”
The question caught her off guard.
“What?”
“After being blamed. After being threatened. Why stay?”
Elena looked at Leo.
The answer came immediately.
“Because of him.”
She gently touched the child’s back.
“Leo had nobody who would stand up for him.”
Marcus watched her.
And for the first time that day, he saw something beyond loyalty.
He saw sacrifice.
But Victoria wasn’t finished.
She reached into her purse again.
This time, she pulled out a small flash drive.
Marcus’s eyes narrowed.
“What is that?”
Victoria held it up.
“Something that will prove Elena isn’t as innocent as she wants you to think.”
Elena’s face went pale.
“What is it?”
Victoria smiled.
“Security footage.”
The hallway went silent.
Marcus stared at the flash drive.
“You have the footage?”
“Yes.”
“From the night Leo disappeared?”
Victoria nodded.
“And when you watch it…”
She looked at Elena.
“You’ll finally see what really happened.”
Marcus reached for the flash drive.
But before his fingers touched it, Elena spoke.
“Mr. Vance…”
He stopped.
She looked terrified.
Not because of the video.
Because she knew something.
Something Victoria didn’t know.
“Don’t watch it alone.”
Marcus looked confused.
“Why?”
Elena’s voice dropped.
“Because that footage was never meant to be found.”
Everyone froze.
Victoria’s smile disappeared.
Marcus stared at Elena.
“What are you saying?”
Elena looked toward the dark hallway leading to the security room.
“I’m saying someone wanted that footage hidden.”
A long silence followed.
Then Marcus looked at Victoria.
And for the first time…
Victoria looked afraid.
Because Elena had just revealed the one thing Victoria never expected.
The footage wasn’t her weapon.
May you like
It was her biggest danger.
TO BE CONTINUED...
