Chapter 4 - THE SECOND CAMERA
I didn't sleep that night.
Neither did Emily.
Neither did I think anyone in that house could.
The hidden phone sat on the kitchen table.
A silent piece of plastic that had destroyed the illusion of my perfect family.
But Tessa's words kept repeating in my head.
The other phone isn't the only one.
At 3:14 in the morning, I was sitting alone in my office.
The same room where I planned dog training schedules.
The same room where I paid bills.
The same room where I kept my life organized.
Except now my life was anything but organized.
I looked around.
Everything was familiar.
And somehow everything felt fake.
My eyes landed on the security monitor.
I installed cameras around the property years ago.
Not because I didn't trust people.
Because training dogs taught me something important.
You can't rely only on what people say.
You have to observe.
I opened the footage.
The kitchen camera.
The living room camera.
The front entrance.
Then I searched backward.
The day Emily left.
I watched.
At 12:42 p.m.
Emily walked into the kitchen.
She looked around.
Then she took something from her purse.
A phone.
Not the one I found.
Another one.
My heart started pounding.
I paused the video.
Zoomed in.
The phone was different.
White case.
Small crack near the corner.
Tessa was right.
There was another phone.
I kept watching.
Emily typed something.
Then five minutes later...
Ryan entered through the back door.
I stopped breathing.
Ryan.
Inside my house.
While I was gone.
I watched them talk.
No sound.
Only movement.
Then Ryan handed Emily an envelope.
She looked nervous.
He pointed toward the hallway.
Toward the bedrooms.
Toward where my children were.
I clenched my fists.
I skipped forward.
At 1:05 p.m.
Ryan left.
Emily looked at the phone.
Then she walked upstairs.
The footage ended.
But one thing was clear.
Ryan had been there.
And he had been there for a reason.
I printed the footage.
Then I heard a voice behind me.
"Grant."
I turned.
Emily was standing in the doorway.
She looked exhausted.
"What are you doing?"
I held up the paper.
"Watching the truth."
Her face changed.
"You checked the cameras?"
"No."
I looked at her.
"I finally used them."
She stepped closer.
"Please."
"No more please."
My voice was quiet.
"Where is the second phone?"
She froze.
And that told me everything.
She knew.
"Emily."
She closed her eyes.
"I don't have it."
"Then who does?"
Silence.
Then:
"Ryan."
The name again.
Always Ryan.
I grabbed my jacket.
"Where are you going?"
"To talk to him."
"No."
Her voice became urgent.
"You can't."
"Why?"
"Because he's been waiting for this."
I stopped.
"What does that mean?"
She looked terrified.
"It means this was never about hiding a secret."
"Then what was it about?"
She whispered:
"Destroying you."
I stared at her.
And for the first time, I understood.
Ryan wasn't just hiding something.
He was planning something.
And my family was the target.
Then my phone rang.
Unknown number.
I answered.
A man's voice came through.
Calm.
Confident.
Familiar.
"Grant."
I froze.
Because I knew that voice.
Ryan.
"I was wondering when you'd finally find the cameras."
My blood went cold.
"Where are you?"
A small laugh.
"You're asking the wrong question."
"What question should I ask?"
His answer came instantly.
"Ask why your wife never told you the truth about what happened the night Miles was born."
I gripped the phone.
"What are you talking about?"
Silence.
Then Ryan said:
"Ask her what she did before she signed the birth certificate."
The call ended.
I looked at Emily.
She was crying.
And I knew.
Whatever happened that night in the hospital...
May you like
was the secret everyone had been trying to bury.
TO BE CONTINUED...
