Chapter 2: What Happened Behind My Bedroom Door
Sophia didn't leave.
She stood beside the front door, one hand gripping her handbag so tightly that her knuckles turned white.
Ethan looked between us.
"What second camera?""
"The one facing the hallway.""
I walked toward the desk, moving carefully because my knees had begun to ache. My right cheek felt swollen, and the cracked arm of my glasses kept slipping against my ear.
Emma followed me.
"Dad, are you sure you want to watch it tonight?""
I nodded.
"We've already opened the door. We might as well see what's behind it.""
Sophia gave a bitter laugh.
"This is ridiculous. You people are treating me like a criminal.""
I opened the laptop.
"Then you have nothing to worry about.""
She looked at Ethan.
"Are you really going to let him do this?""
Ethan didn't answer.
That silence seemed to frighten her more than anything I had said.
I connected the hallway camera to the television. The recording appeared, showing the familiar corridor that connected the living room to the bedrooms.
The clock in the corner read 6:42 p.m.
Sophia entered the hallway.
She looked over her shoulder.
Then she walked into my bedroom.
Emma leaned forward.
"That's tonight.""
"Yes," I said.
Ethan stared at the screen.
"Why were you in Dad's bedroom?""
Sophia folded her arms.
"I was looking for something.""
"What?""
"My phone charger.""
"Your charger is in our bedroom," Ethan replied.
She rolled her eyes.
"I couldn't remember where I left it.""
On the screen, Sophia walked directly to my bedside table.
She opened the top drawer.
Then the second.
She didn't look for a charger.
She went straight to the small wooden box where I kept emergency cash.
My stomach tightened.
The recording continued.
Sophia took out a folded envelope, opened it, and counted the bills.
Then she removed her phone and photographed the inside of the box.
Emma whispered, "Oh, my God.""
Ethan stepped closer to the television.
"Turn it up.""
I increased the volume.
Sophia's voice came through clearly.
"Three hundred left. He must have replaced it.""
She placed the remaining money back into the box.
Then she took a small key from her handbag and unlocked the bottom drawer of my bedside cabinet.
She removed a document folder.
Ethan frowned.
"What is that?""
I stared at the screen.
"My property documents.""
Sophia flipped through the folder, took several photographs, and slipped the papers back inside.
Before leaving, she glanced toward the hallway camera.
She didn't know it was there.
Or perhaps she hadn't noticed the tiny lens hidden above the smoke detector.
Then she walked out.
The recording ended.
Nobody spoke.
I turned toward my son.
"Now you understand why I started keeping records?""
Ethan looked sick.
"Why was she taking pictures of your documents?""
Sophia laughed, but the sound was thin.
"Because I was curious.""
"Curious about what?"" Emma asked.
"His house. The property value. I wanted to understand the paperwork.""
"You went through his private drawers without permission.""
"I was trying to help!""
"By taking pictures?""
Sophia turned toward Ethan.
"Don't you dare start believing everything your father says.""
Ethan's face tightened.
"I just watched you take money from his box.""
"I didn't take anything tonight!""
"That's not what I asked.""
She opened her mouth.
Then closed it.
I sat down slowly.
For months, I had wondered whether my memory was failing. I had checked the locks twice each night. I had counted the cash before breakfast and again before going to bed. I had even started writing down ordinary things because Sophia kept suggesting that I was becoming confused.
And all that time, the person who had been making me doubt myself was standing in my house.
I rubbed my forehead.
"How long have you been doing this?""
Sophia looked away.
"Doing what?""
"Taking money.""
"I haven't taken your money.""
"Then why did you say, 'Three hundred left. He must have replaced it'?""
She snapped her head toward the screen.
"That could mean anything.""
"It means exactly what it sounds like.""
Ethan took a step toward her.
"How much did you take?""
"Nothing.""
"Eight thousand dollars is missing.""
"Then maybe you should ask your father where he put it.""
Emma stared at her.
"You watched the recording of yourself going through his cash box, and that's still your answer?""
Sophia's voice rose.
"You have no idea what it's like being married to Ethan!""
Ethan looked stunned.
"What does that have to do with anything?""
"Everything! Your father has money. Your father has a house.
Your father has savings. And somehow, we're supposed to struggle while he sits here surrounded by everything?""
I looked at her.
"Your husband has a job.""
"A job that barely covers our expenses!""
"Then perhaps you should spend less.""
Sophia's eyes flashed.
"You have no right to lecture me about money.""
"I have every right when you enter my bedroom and take mine.""
She grabbed her handbag again.
"I'm done.""
But Ethan stepped between her and the door.
"Not yet.""
She stared at him.
"Move.""
"Tell me the truth.""
"I already told you.""
"No. You told me what you wanted me to believe.""
For the first time, my son sounded like the man I remembered.
He wasn't shouting.
He wasn't threatening anyone.
He was simply asking a question and refusing to accept a performance as an answer.
Sophia's expression changed.
She softened her voice.
"Ethan, baby, you know how much pressure I've been under.""
He shook his head.
"Don't.""
"Our bills have been piling up.""
"I know.""
"My credit cards are nearly maxed out.""
"I know that too.""
"I was scared.""
He stared at her.
"Scared enough to steal from my father?""
She looked at me.
"He doesn't need all that money.""
I felt something cold settle in my chest.
"That money was for my future.""
"You're seventy-five, Richard. What exactly are you saving it for?""
Emma gasped.
Ethan's face went pale.
I looked at Sophia for several seconds.
Then I smiled.
Not because anything was funny.
But because she had finally said what she had been thinking all along.
To her, I wasn't a father.
I was an old man with a house and money that she believed would eventually belong to someone else.
"That's an interesting question," I said.
She rolled her eyes.
"Don't twist my words.""
"I'm not twisting anything.""
I reached for the envelope on my desk and removed a folded bank statement.
"Your mother and I spent forty-two years building our savings. I worked double shifts for years. I missed holidays.
I repaired my own roof. I drove the same car for seventeen years because I wanted my children to have opportunities I never had.""
My voice became quieter.
"Your mother died without seeing retirement. She spent her last months asking whether Ethan would be all right.""
Ethan lowered his head.
"Please, Dad.""
"I told her he would be. I promised her.""
Sophia looked at the clock.
"Can we stop with the sentimental speech?""
Emma stepped forward.
"Don't you dare.""
I raised my hand.
"No, sweetheart. Let her listen.""
I looked at Sophia.
"You know what hurts most? I never once asked you to pay me back for the wedding. Or the car repairs. Or the money I gave you when you said you couldn't afford the deposit on your apartment.""
"We never asked you to!""
"You didn't need to. I offered because I thought we were family.""
Sophia shook her head.
"You always bring up everything you've done for us.""
"Because apparently, you have forgotten.""
Ethan moved toward the sofa and sat down, burying his face in his hands.
I had never seen him look so small.
Then my laptop chimed.
A notification appeared.
It was from the camera's motion-detection archive.
I clicked it.
A new video loaded, dated May 8.
The same day the final $2,500 disappeared.
I pressed play.
Sophia entered the hallway carrying a large brown handbag.
She went into my bedroom.
Five minutes later, she came out.
But this time, she wasn't alone.
A man followed her.
He was tall, wearing a dark baseball cap and a gray jacket.
I didn't recognize him.
Ethan stood immediately.
"Who is that?""
Sophia froze.
The man glanced toward the living room, then handed her something small.
She slipped it into her handbag.
Then he said something that made my blood run cold.
"Did you get the deed?""
Sophia nodded.
"Not yet. I only got the photographs.""
The man frowned.
"Then we need another way.""
Ethan turned slowly toward his wife.
"Who is that man?""
Sophia's lips parted.
For several seconds, she couldn't speak.
Then the man on the screen removed his cap.
And I recognized him.
Not as a stranger.
Not as one of Sophia's friends.
But as someone I had personally welcomed into my home.
Someone I had trusted with the keys to my house.
Someone who had once sat beside my wife's hospital bed and promised he would always look after our family.
"That's impossible," I whispered.
Emma looked at me.
"Dad? Who is he?""
I couldn't take my eyes off the screen.
Because the man standing beside Sophia was my wife's younger brother.
My brother-in-law.
May you like
And Ethan's godfather.
*Daniel.*
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