Chapter 7 - SEVENTY-THREE FILES
By midnight, Daniel was standing in Hannah’s kitchen with a laptop under his arm.
He looked older than he had that morning.
“I didn’t delete them.”
Hannah opened the door wider. “I know.”
They sat at opposite ends of the kitchen table while Daniel logged into the home security account.
VPIERCE.
Vanessa.
“She said the cameras made Sophie anxious.”
“Did she tell you she deleted seventy-three clips?”
“No.”
“Did you ask what was on them?”
“She’s not answering me now.”
Hannah leaned forward. “Where is Sophie supposed to be tomorrow?”
“With me.”
“No. With you and Vanessa.”
Daniel looked at her.
Hannah did not soften. “Until we know what happened, Sophie doesn’t go back to that house.”
“My attorney will say you’re withholding custody.”
“Then let him.”
At 12:41 a.m., Tessa called with a digital-forensics contact who explained that deleted cloud clips might survive in a vendor archive.
At 1:18, Daniel signed consent for retrieval.
At 2:07, Vanessa finally texted him.
STOP LETTING HER POISON YOU.
No answer.
YOU PROMISED WE WERE BUILDING A REAL FAMILY.
Hannah watched his face.
“What did you promise her?”
Daniel looked sick. “I told her I wanted Sophie to feel like we were all one family.”
“What exactly did that mean?”
“She suggested consistent names. She said ‘Mommy Vanessa’ would make Sophie feel secure.”
“You agreed?”
“I thought it was harmless.”
“You agreed to replace me.”
“No.”
“You gave her permission to make our daughter responsible for your marriage.”
Daniel opened his mouth.
At two in the morning.
Hannah looked through the camera.
Daniel went pale.
“That’s Elena,” he said. “She cleans our house.”
Hannah opened the door.
May you like
Elena held out a flash drive.
“I copied what she deleted,” she whispered. “Before she could erase everything.”
