Chapter 3 - The Camera They Thought Was Dead
At the hospital, Leo disappeared through a set of doors before Lucas had time to process what was happening.
Sophia was taken into another examination room.
For several minutes, Lucas stood alone in a corridor.
Eight months overseas.
Eight months imagining home.
And now his wife was being examined for injuries while doctors treated his newborn son for a dangerously high fever.
Lucas leaned against the wall.
His hands were shaking.
He closed them into fists.
Not from anger.
Not entirely.
Fear.
A doctor finally appeared.
“Mr. Davis?”
Lucas immediately stood.
“How is he?”
“Your son's receiving fluids, and we're bringing his temperature down.”
“Is he going to be okay?”
The doctor paused.
That pause nearly stopped Lucas's heart.
“We're optimistic. But bringing him in when you did was important.”
Lucas closed his eyes briefly.
“How important?”
The doctor chose his words carefully.
“Waiting longer could have created significantly more risk.”
Lucas looked through the small window in the door.
Leo looked impossibly small beneath the hospital lights.
Lucas had spent months imagining holding his son for the first time.
Instead, his first night with him was happening here.
“Can I see my wife?”
“Soon.”
Lucas nodded.
His phone vibrated.
A message from the investigator.
They had secured several relevant items from the house.
One was the nursery camera.
Lucas stared at the screen.
Weeks earlier, when Sophia's communication changed, Lucas had remotely checked the camera application.
The live feed appeared disconnected.
His mother later mentioned that the camera was broken.
But the device had local backup storage.
Eleanor didn't know that.
Neither did Audrey.
Lucas did.
Before returning home, he had provided investigators with information about the system.
Now they had the physical device.
Another message appeared.
We found recordings.
Lucas's stomach tightened.
He did not ask to see them.
Not yet.
A nurse approached.
“Your wife is asking for you.”
Lucas entered Sophia's room.
She was sitting upright now.
Her bruises seemed even darker beneath the clinical lighting.
For a moment, neither spoke.
Then Sophia whispered, “Is Leo okay?”
“The doctor thinks he'll be okay.”
Her face crumpled.
Lucas sat beside her.
“I tried.”
“I know.”
“I tried to leave.”
“I know.”
“They hid my keys.”
Lucas swallowed.
Sophia continued.
“They said you'd believe them.”
He looked at her.
“What?”
“Your mother kept saying you'd choose your family.”
Lucas's expression tightened.
“You are my family.”
Sophia began crying.
Lucas reached for her hand.
She hesitated for only a moment before taking it.
“There are things I didn't tell you.”
Lucas waited.
“She started controlling everything after you left.”
Sophia described the gradual change.
At first, Eleanor offered help.
Meals.
Laundry.
Watching Leo so Sophia could sleep.
Then came criticism.
The house wasn't clean enough.
Sophia wasn't grateful enough.
She was holding Leo too much.
Then Audrey began visiting more often.
The two women started making decisions for Sophia.
What she ate.
When she slept.
Who she spoke to.
Eventually, Eleanor demanded access to household accounts.
Sophia refused.
That was when things became worse.
“Why didn't you tell me?”
Sophia looked ashamed.
“I tried.”
Lucas remembered the strange messages.
Everything is fine.
Don't worry about me.
Focus on your work.
He had known they didn't sound like Sophia.
“Some messages weren't from you.”
She shook her head.
“Your mother wrote them.”
Lucas looked away.
For several seconds, he couldn't speak.
Sophia squeezed his hand.
“I thought you knew.”
His eyes returned to hers.
“Knew what?”
“That she hated me.”
“I knew she didn't approve of our marriage.”
“No.”
Sophia's voice became quiet.
“I mean what she wanted.”
Lucas felt something cold move through him.
“What did she want?”
Before Sophia could answer, there was a knock.
The investigator entered.
Her expression had changed since the house.
More serious.
She closed the door behind her.
“Mr. Davis, Mrs. Davis, we've reviewed part of the nursery footage.”
Sophia immediately looked frightened.
Lucas leaned forward.
“What did you see?”
The investigator hesitated.
Enough to make Lucas understand the answer would not be easy.
“We saw an incident involving your mother.”
Sophia closed her eyes.
“And your sister.”
Lucas's jaw tightened.
The investigator placed a tablet on the table but did not turn it toward them.
“There is also a conversation recorded after Mrs. Davis left the nursery.”
“What conversation?”
The investigator looked directly at Lucas.
“One concerning the property.”
Lucas frowned.
“The property?”
“Yes.”
Then she said something Lucas had never expected.
“Your mother appears to believe that if your marriage ended, she could gain control of the house.”
Lucas stared at her.
“That isn't legally possible.”
“We understand.”
“Then why—”
“She may not.”
The investigator paused.
“But there's something else.”
Sophia slowly opened her eyes.
The investigator continued.
“Your sister mentions money.”
Lucas's breathing stopped for half a second.
“What money?”
The investigator turned the tablet around.
On the frozen video frame, Eleanor and Audrey stood beside Leo's crib.
A timestamp appeared in the corner.
Two nights earlier.
The investigator pressed play.
Audrey's recorded voice filled the hospital room.
And within seconds, Lucas realized the nightmare inside his house had never been only about cruelty.
Someone had been moving money.
May you like
A lot of it.
And his mother believed Lucas would never find out.
