Chapter 2: The Video
Daniel stared at the camera like it was a weapon pointed directly at him.
“What did you record?”” he asked.
Nobody answered.
The silence was unbearable.
Mia slowly stood up.
Her earlier panic disappeared.
The tears on her face remained, but something behind them had changed.
Calculation.
“Daniel, please,” she said.
He looked at her.
“Why are you scared of a camera?””
“I’m not.””
“You just told me not to watch it.””
“I was upset.””
“No,” Claire said quietly.
Everyone looked at her.
My daughter wiped her eyes.
“That wasn’t what someone says when they’re telling the truth.””
Mia’s expression hardened.
“Claire, be careful.””
It was the first time that night I heard her voice without fear.
Cold.
Controlled.
Daniel noticed too.
“Let’s watch it.””
Mia stepped forward.
“No.””
“Why?””
“Because your father is trying to embarrass me.””
I stared at her.
“Embarrass you?””
My voice shook.
“Mia, you just accused me of something that could destroy my entire life.””
She looked away.
Daniel walked toward the camera controls.
“I want to see everything.””
The room became a courtroom.
My family stood around me like strangers waiting for evidence.
Daniel connected the camera feed to the television downstairs.
A few minutes later, everyone was gathered in the living room.
The same room where we had laughed earlier.
The same room where Margaret used to sit beside the fireplace.
Now everyone was silent.
The screen showed the hallway.
Empty.
Then I appeared.
Walking upstairs.
A few seconds later, Mia entered.
The video showed something none of us expected.
Mia wasn’t scared.
She was waiting.
She looked directly at the camera.
Then she looked at me.
The room went silent.
Daniel leaned closer.
On the screen, Mia stepped toward me.
I watched myself from above.
I watched the moment she grabbed her blouse.
I watched her tear it.
I watched her pull her own hair.
Nobody spoke.
Then the scream came.
But this time, there was no confusion.
Only truth.
Claire covered her mouth.
“Oh my God.””
Daniel didn’t move.
“Mia…”
She immediately grabbed the remote.
“Turn it off.””
Daniel didn’t.
“Why did you do that?””
She looked at him.
“I can explain.””
“Explain what?””
“That’s not what it looks like.””
I almost laughed.
Not because it was funny.
Because it was unbelievable.
“What exactly does it look like, Mia?””
She looked at me with anger.
For the first time, she dropped the act completely.
“You have no idea what you’ve done.””
My heart tightened.
“What I’ve done?””
She said nothing.
Daniel stepped back.
“I defended you.””
“I know.””
“And you lied to me.””
“I had a reason.””
“A reason?””
His voice cracked.
“What reason could possibly make you do this?””
Mia looked around the room.
At all of us.
Then she said something that changed everything.
“I needed him out of the house.””
Nobody understood.
I felt a strange chill.
“Why?””
She didn’t answer.
Daniel’s face turned pale.
“Mia. Why?””
She looked toward the staircase.
Toward my bedroom.
And whispered:
“Because of what’s hidden upstairs.””
My breath stopped.
My bedroom.
The place where Margaret’s belongings remained untouched.
The place where I kept every memory.
“What are you talking about?”” I asked.
Mia didn’t respond.
Instead, her phone rang.
She looked at the screen.
Her expression changed.
Fear.
Real fear.
Not the performance from earlier.
She answered quietly.
“Hello?””
Nobody could hear the voice on the other end.
Then Mia whispered:
“I told you I would handle him.””
Daniel looked at her.
“Who is that?””
She ended the call immediately.
Too late.
Because I had seen the name appear on her screen.
May you like
A name I recognized.
A name that belonged to someone who had been dead for six years.
