Chapter 2 - THE MISSING FOOTAGE
The ride to St. Matthew’s Hospital lasted eleven minutes.
To Lily, it felt like an hour.
Ethan cried against Dominic’s chest.
Every small whimper seemed to fill the inside of the armored SUV.
Dominic never looked away from his son.
Lily sat across from them.
Her ribs hurt every time the vehicle turned.
Dr. Reeves sat beside her.
Nobody mentioned the deleted footage.
But everyone was thinking about it.
Especially Dominic.
His phone vibrated.
Marcus.
Dominic answered immediately.
“Talk.”
Marcus’s voice came through the speaker.
“The main security archive was accessed at 9:17.”
Dominic looked at the dashboard clock.
9:46.
“By whom?”
“We’re tracing it.”
“You have thirty minutes.”
“Understood.”
Dominic ended the call.
Lily stared out the window.
Rain streamed down the glass.
She felt sick.
Serena had threatened her many times.
But deleting security footage was different.
That required access.
Planning.
Maybe help.
Dominic seemed to read her thoughts.
“Who else knew?”
Lily looked at him.
“Knew what?”
“That Serena was hurting Ethan.”
Lily’s throat tightened.
“I don’t know.”
Dominic’s stare sharpened.
“That wasn’t my question.”
Lily lowered her eyes.
Dr. Reeves glanced between them.
Dominic continued.
“You said she was dragging him.”
“Yes.”
“Has she touched him before?”
Lily did not answer.
Dominic leaned forward.
“Lily.”
She looked up.
His voice was quiet.
“How long?”
The question hurt worse than Serena’s kick.
Lily swallowed.
“I never saw anything this bad before.”
“That isn’t what I asked.”
Lily’s eyes filled.
Dominic waited.
“About two months.”
The silence afterward was terrible.
Dominic looked as though she had struck him.
“Two months?”
“Not like tonight.”
“What happened?”
“She would squeeze his wrist when he cried.”
Dominic stared at her.
“Sometimes she would pinch him.”
His expression darkened.
“She called him spoiled.”
Lily continued because stopping now would be worse.
“She said he needed discipline.”
Dominic looked down at Ethan.
The baby’s eyes were closed.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
Lily had expected the question.
She had feared it for weeks.
“Because I tried.”
Dominic slowly lifted his head.
“When?”
“The charity dinner three weeks ago.”
His brow tightened.
“You told me Ethan had been restless.”
“No.”
Lily shook her head.
“I asked to speak with you privately.”
Dominic remembered.
Lily could see it on his face.
“You never came.”
“I waited outside your office for almost an hour.”
“I was told you left.”
Lily stared at him.
“I was told you didn’t want to see me.”
Dominic became completely still.
“Who told you that?”
Lily already knew how the answer would sound.
“Serena.”
Dominic looked away.
The SUV stopped outside the private hospital entrance.
Doctors were waiting.
Everything happened quickly after that.
Ethan was taken inside.
Dominic followed.
Lily tried.
Her legs gave way.
Dr. Reeves caught her.
“You’re being examined.”
“I need to stay with Ethan.”
“You can barely stand.”
“He needs me.”
Dominic stopped several yards ahead.
He turned.
“He needs you alive.”
Lily stared at him.
“Go with Dr. Reeves.”
She hesitated.
Dominic’s voice softened slightly.
“I’ll stay with him.”
Lily nodded.
She allowed Dr. Reeves to lead her away.
Twenty minutes later, Lily sat in an examination room.
Her ribs were badly bruised.
Nothing appeared broken.
The doctor wanted to keep her under observation.
Lily refused medication stronger than basic pain relief.
She needed a clear head.
A nurse was checking her blood pressure when the door opened.
Dominic entered.
Lily stood too quickly.
Pain shot through her.
“Sit.”
She sat.
“How is Ethan?”
“His shoulder is dislocated.”
Lily covered her mouth.
“There’s also a small fracture near his wrist.”
Tears immediately filled her eyes.
Dominic watched her reaction.
“He’ll recover.”
Lily closed her eyes.
“Thank God.”
“The doctor says children heal quickly.”
Dominic paused.
“But he also said the injuries are consistent with force.”
Lily opened her eyes.
Dominic stepped inside and closed the door.
“Not a fall.”
“No.”
“Not an accident.”
“No.”
He remained near the door.
“Tell me everything.”
Lily stared at him.
“Everything?”
“Everything Serena has done since she entered this house.”
Lily looked toward the hallway.
“She’ll know.”
“She already knows you’re talking.”
“That’s not what I mean.”
Dominic frowned.
Lily lowered her voice.
“She knows things.”
“What things?”
“About the house.”
Dominic said nothing.
“About your schedule.”
“Everyone knows my schedule.”
“No.”
Lily shook her head.
“She knows when security changes shifts.”
Dominic’s eyes narrowed.
“She knows which doors are monitored.”
Lily continued.
“She knows which employees owe money.”
That got his attention.
“What?”
“She talks to them.”
“Who?”
“I don’t know.”
“You just said—”
“I hear pieces.”
Lily rubbed her hands together.
“She asks questions.”
“What kind?”
“Who has children.”
“Who has debt.”
“Who needs extra money.”
Dominic’s expression became colder with every answer.
“Why?”
“I don’t know.”
Then Lily remembered something.
Her heart began beating faster.
“There was an envelope.”
Dominic stepped closer.
“What envelope?”
“Three nights ago.”
Lily tried to reconstruct the moment.
“I came downstairs because Ethan’s bottle warmer stopped working.”
“Go on.”
“I heard Serena talking to someone in the library.”
“Who?”
“I couldn’t see.”
“Man or woman?”
“Man.”
Dominic’s face tightened.
“What did he say?”
Lily closed her eyes.
She remembered the whisper.
The door slightly open.
Serena standing beside the fireplace.
A shadow on the opposite wall.
“She told him everything had to happen before the wedding.”
Dominic did not move.
“What exactly?”
“She said…”
Lily hesitated.
Dominic waited.
“She said once the papers were signed, nobody could take it back.”
A long silence followed.
Dominic looked toward the window.
His reflection stared back from the black glass.
“What papers?”
“I don’t know.”
“Did she mention Ethan?”
Lily shook her head.
“Not then.”
Dominic turned back.
“Then?”
“There was another time.”
Lily’s voice became quieter.
“She was on the phone.”
“When?”
“Last week.”
“What did she say?”
Lily looked directly at him.
“She said Ethan was the only complication.”
Dominic’s face emptied of emotion.
That frightened Lily more than anger would have.
“What else?”
“She said…”
Lily stopped.
“Say it.”
“She said once Ethan was out of the way, you would have nobody left to question what belonged to her.”
Dominic did not speak.
For several seconds, the only sound was the hospital monitor.
Then his phone rang.
Marcus.
Dominic answered.
“What did you find?”
Marcus spoke for nearly thirty seconds.
Lily could not hear the words.
But she watched Dominic’s face.
Something changed.
“What employee account?”
Another pause.
“Impossible.”
Dominic walked toward the window.
“Check again.”
Marcus said something else.
Dominic turned toward Lily.
His expression was strange.
Not suspicious.
Confused.
He ended the call.
Lily waited.
“What happened?”
Dominic stared at her.
“The security archive was erased using an employee access code.”
Lily’s stomach tightened.
“Whose?”
Dominic did not answer immediately.
That silence told her something was wrong.
“Whose code?”
May you like
Dominic finally spoke.
“Yours.”
