Chapter 2 - The Missing Hour
Victor unlocked the security system from his phone.
The application loaded slowly.
Too slowly.
Serena stood behind him.
Lily remained on the floor with Oliver.
The toddler’s sobbing had quieted into exhausted whimpers.
Victor selected the living room camera.
The screen displayed recordings from that morning.
Then something strange appeared.
A gap.
Nearly fifty-three minutes of footage were missing.
Victor frowned.
“That’s impossible.”
Serena forced a laugh.
“Maybe the system glitched.”
Victor looked at her.
“The system doesn’t glitch.”
Serena folded her arms.
“You’re treating me like some criminal.”
“I haven’t accused you of anything.”
“You don’t have to.”
Victor opened the hallway camera.
Another gap.
The nursery camera.
Another gap.
Exactly the same time period.
Lily stared at the screen.
Her expression changed.
Victor noticed.
“You knew?”
Lily shook her head.
“No.”
Then she looked at Serena.
“But now something makes sense.”
Serena’s jaw tightened.
“What?”
Lily stood carefully while holding Oliver.
“Every Tuesday afternoon, Serena tells me to take my lunch break early.”
Victor turned toward her.
Serena laughed again.
“Because she works hard.”
Lily continued.
“And every Tuesday, when I come back, Oliver is upset.”
Victor’s face hardened.
“How upset?”
“He cries when anyone approaches the upstairs hallway.”
Victor looked toward the staircase.
Serena stepped in front of him.
“He’s a toddler.”
Victor moved around her.
Lily followed.
Serena grabbed Victor’s arm.
“Where are you going?”
“To Oliver’s room.”
“You’ve been traveling for three days.”
“So?”
“You should shower.”
Victor stared at her.
The excuse was so absurd that Serena immediately realized she had made a mistake.
Victor continued upstairs.
Oliver began trembling in Lily’s arms.
Lily whispered.
“It’s okay.”
When they reached the nursery, Victor opened the door.
Everything appeared normal.
Blue wallpaper.
White crib.
Stuffed animals.
Wooden rocking chair.
But Lily walked toward the crib.
She crouched.
Victor watched her pull something from beneath it.
A small silver bracelet.
Serena stopped breathing.
Victor picked it up.
The bracelet was too small for an adult.
Too large for Oliver.
Tiny engraved letters were visible.
E.M.
Victor looked at Lily.
“Do you recognize this?”
“No.”
Serena stepped backward.
Victor noticed.
“Do you?”
Serena shook her head.
“Of course not.”
Victor slipped the bracelet into his pocket.
Then Oliver suddenly pointed toward the closet.
His entire body stiffened.
“No.”
It was one of the few words he could clearly pronounce.
Victor stared at him.
Oliver pointed again.
“No.”
Lily’s face became pale.
Victor walked toward the closet.
Serena rushed forward.
“Victor.”
He reached for the handle.
“Don’t.”
Victor turned slowly.
Serena realized what she had said.
Victor opened the door.
At first, he saw nothing unusual.
Then Lily noticed something behind the hanging clothes.
A narrow wooden panel.
May you like
Victor pushed the clothes aside.
There was a door he had never seen before.
