Chapter 2 - THE MISSING THIRTY SECONDS
I stared at the screen until my eyes burned.
Thirty seconds.
Gone. Vanished. Edited out cleanly, with professional precision. There was no glitch, no jump, no audio break — just a seamless transition that would have fooled anyone who wasn’t looking for it.
But I knew our security system. I had installed it myself. It recorded continuously. It never skipped. It never stopped.
Someone had deliberately removed those seconds.
And they had done it before I even asked to see the footage.
My throat went dry.
Vanessa hadn’t just been caught red-handed. She had been confident. She had been standing there arguing with me, delaying me, stalling for time — because she believed the dangerous part was already hidden.
I stood up and walked over to the house manager’s desk. He was still there, sorting through files, looking pale and shaken.
“Who else has access to the security system?” I asked him quietly.
He looked up, startled.
“Only you, sir. And… and Vanessa. She asked for access last month. Said she wanted to review the nanny footage.”
I gripped the edge of the desk until my knuckles turned white.
“And did you give it to her?”
“I did, sir. She said you had approved it.”
I didn’t answer. I just nodded slowly. Of course she did. She knew exactly what to say to get what she wanted.
I went back to the monitor. I pulled up the raw backup files — the ones stored on the hidden drive, the ones I hadn’t told anyone about. The ones even Vanessa didn’t know existed.
My hands shook as I typed in the password.
The file opened.
And there it was.
The missing thirty seconds.
I leaned forward, holding my breath.
On screen, after Vanessa had thrown the medicine in the trash, she pulled her phone out of her pocket. She didn’t call anyone. She didn’t text. She simply held the phone up toward the trash can.
And she spoke clearly into the microphone.
“It’s done. The medicine is gone. The food is swapped. If she eats even one bite… she won’t survive.”
Then she paused. Listening to a voice on the other end.
And then Vanessa smiled. That same cold, terrifying smile.
“Yes. He’ll have no choice. Once the girl is gone… the inheritance is ours.”
She ended the call. Put the phone away. And walked out of the kitchen.
The screen went still.
I sank back into the chair. The room seemed to spin around me.
Inheritance.
Once the girl is gone… the inheritance is ours.
I stood up so fast the chair crashed over behind me.
It wasn’t just Vanessa.
She had an accomplice. Someone she was working with. Someone who stood to gain everything if Sophie died.
And that meant… this wasn’t over.
Vanessa had failed tonight. But whoever was pulling her strings would try again.
I pulled out my phone. I scrolled through my contacts until I found the name I needed.
Martin. An old friend. Former detective. Someone I trusted with my life.
He answered on the second ring.
“Adrian? It’s late.”
“Martin,” I said. My voice was rough. “I need you to look into something. And I need you to keep it completely quiet.”
“Go ahead.”
“Vanessa Hale. My ex-fiancée. I need to know who she’s been talking to. Who she’s meeting. Who she’s been calling. Everything. Especially anyone connected to my family’s will.”
Martin went quiet for a moment. Then his voice dropped lower.
“Adrian… are you saying what I think you’re saying?”
“She tried to kill Sophie tonight,” I said. “And she wasn’t working alone. I have it on tape. She mentioned an inheritance. She said once Sophie was gone… it would be theirs.”
Martin didn’t speak for a long time. When he finally replied, his voice was grave.
“I’ll start digging immediately. But Adrian… if this is about the will… you need to be very careful. That money makes people do terrible things. And if someone is willing to kill a six-year-old child to get it… they won’t stop at one mistake.”
“I know,” I said. “That’s why I’m calling you.”
We ended the call.
I walked back upstairs to Sophie’s room. I stood in the doorway, watching her sleep peacefully beneath her fairy-tale canopy. Her chest rose and fell softly. She was safe. For tonight.
But someone wanted her dead.
Someone close to me. Someone who knew my habits. Someone who knew about the allergy. Someone who knew exactly how much Sophie stood to inherit when she turned eighteen — and exactly how much would be theirs if she died before then.
I walked over to her bed and brushed a strand of hair away from her face.
“I promise you,” I whispered. “I will find out who is behind this. And I will make sure they never hurt you. Ever.”
I leaned down and kissed her forehead. And as I pulled back, I noticed something tucked beneath her pillow.
A small, folded piece of paper.
I pulled it out carefully, so I wouldn’t wake her.
I unfolded it under the soft glow of her nightlight.
It was written in childish, wobbly handwriting.
*Dear Daddy,*
*I heard Vanessa talking on the phone yesterday. She said she was going to make me go away. She said someone was waiting for me. A man with gray hair. He told her to do it.*
*I was scared to tell you. She said if I told anyone… she would hurt you too.*
*Love, Sophie.*
My blood turned to ice.
A man with gray hair.
Someone had told Vanessa to do it. Someone she was taking orders from. Someone who had threatened to hurt me too.
I folded the note carefully and put it into my pocket.
I looked down at my sleeping daughter. And for the first time since this nightmare began, I didn’t just feel anger.
I felt fear.
Because whoever this man was… he had been in my house. He had been talking to Vanessa. He had been planning this.
And he was still out there.
May you like
Watching.
Waiting for his next chance.
