Chapter 4 - The Cameras
Roberto returned downstairs with Daniel beside him.
Vanessa stood near the fireplace with a glass of wine.
Her hands were shaking despite her attempt to look composed.
“Is this going to continue all night?”
“Yes.”
Roberto turned toward Daniel.
“Pull every interior security recording from the last six months.”
Daniel hesitated.
Vanessa answered before he could.
“There are no interior recordings.”
Roberto looked at her.
“What?”
“I had the living room and upstairs hallway cameras disabled months ago.”
A silence followed.
Roberto stared at Daniel.
“Is that true?”
Daniel looked uncomfortable.
“Mrs. Vale requested additional privacy.”
“She is not Mrs. Vale.”
Vanessa’s lips tightened.
Roberto continued.
“And she does not have authority to disable security systems in my home.”
Daniel lowered his eyes.
“She said you approved it.”
“I never did.”
Vanessa took a drink.
“This is absurd.”
Roberto walked toward her.
“Why did you disable them?”
“Because I did not enjoy being recorded in my own home.”
“It isn’t your home.”
That sentence changed the room.
Vanessa slowly lowered the wineglass.
Roberto saw humiliation flash across her face.
Good.
He wanted her to understand exactly where she stood.
Daniel cleared his throat.
“Sir, there may still be partial footage.”
Vanessa spun around.
“What do you mean?”
“The exterior cameras stayed active.”
“And several hallway motion sensors have audio synchronization.”
Roberto looked at him.
“Audio?”
“It’s a security backup system.”
Daniel swallowed.
“It only captures short clips when specific alerts are triggered.”
Vanessa set down her glass too quickly.
Wine splashed over the table.
Roberto noticed.
“Find them.”
Daniel nodded.
Vanessa stepped forward.
“You cannot seriously intend to search through months of private conversations.”
“I intend to find out what happened to my daughter while I was gone.”
“This is paranoia.”
“No.”
Roberto moved close enough that his voice no longer needed volume.
“Paranoia is fearing something without evidence.”
He glanced toward the broken glass.
“I have evidence.”
Daniel left for the security office.
Vanessa followed Roberto into the hallway.
“What are you planning to do?”
“That depends on what I find.”
“You’re throwing away four years because a child dropped a glass.”
Roberto stopped.
“No.”
He turned.
“I’m questioning four years because a child apologized for being blind.”
Vanessa’s mouth opened.
Nothing came out.
Twenty minutes later, Daniel called from the security room.
“Sir.”
Roberto entered.
Three monitors glowed in the darkness.
Daniel pointed toward an archived clip.
“I think you need to hear this.”
The timestamp was from eleven days earlier.
8:41 PM.
The audio was faint.
Vanessa’s voice was unmistakable.
“If you tell your father about this, Sofía, I’ll make sure María loses her job.”
Roberto’s blood turned cold.
Then came Sofía’s tiny voice.
“Please don’t send her away.”
Vanessa answered.
“Then learn to behave before nine o’clock.”
Roberto stared at the screen.
The timestamp kept moving.
8:42.
8:43.
May you like
8:44.
Suddenly, every late night he had ever worked became evidence against him.
