Chapter 2 - The Nursery Camera
The Sterling estate had more security than some small companies.
Thirty cameras.
Private guards.
Motion sensors.
Biometric locks.
Richard had always believed money could solve almost any problem.
That belief was about to break.
At midnight, after the gala ended, Richard sat alone in his office.
The champagne glasses downstairs had been cleared.
The guests were gone.
The house was quiet.
Too quiet.
On his computer screen were security feeds.
The nursery.
The hallway.
The east wing.
He watched the footage from earlier.
Victoria entering the nursery with Maya.
Time stamp: 8:14 PM.
Nothing unusual.
Victoria smiled.
Maya held her hand.
Then something happened.
Richard leaned closer.
The camera angle only showed the doorway.
Not inside.
He frowned.
“Why?”
He checked another camera.
Nothing.
Another.
Nothing.
The nursery itself had no camera.
Richard stopped.
He had made that decision years ago.
Eleanor had insisted.
“No cameras in her room.”
“She deserves one place where she isn’t watched.”
Richard remembered agreeing.
Now that choice bothered him.
A knock came at the office door.
Victoria entered.
“You’re still awake.”
Richard closed the laptop.
“Just thinking.”
She walked closer.
“You’re worried about Maya.”
It was not a question.
Richard looked away.
“She was scared.”
Victoria sighed.
“I know.”
She sat across from him.
“Do you think I don’t feel terrible?”
Richard softened.
“No.”
“Because sometimes I feel like I’m being punished for something I didn’t do.”
The words were emotional.
Carefully chosen.
Richard reached for her hand.
“I don’t think that.”
Victoria smiled sadly.
“I love that little girl.”
A pause.
“I just don’t know if she’ll ever love me back.”
Richard wanted to believe her.
He really did.
Then his phone buzzed.
A message from the night nanny.
MRS. GABLE:
Sir, Maya fell asleep, but she was holding onto your old sweater. She would not let go.
Richard stared at the screen.
His old sweater.
Not Victoria’s.
Not her blanket.
His.
The next morning, Richard checked the nursery himself.
Everything looked normal.
The stuffed animals.
The books.
The small bed.
Nothing seemed wrong.
Then he noticed something.
A tiny scratch on the wooden floor.
Near the closet.
Richard knelt down.
He touched it.
Fresh.
New.
He opened the closet.
Inside were Maya’s clothes.
Boxes.
Old toys.
Nothing else.
He almost closed it.
Almost.
Then he saw something behind the shelf.
A small pink ribbon.
Maya’s ribbon.
The same one Victoria had tied into her hair the night before.
Richard picked it up.
There was a dark mark on it.
Not dirt.
Something else.
He stared.
Then he heard a voice behind him.
“Richard?”
He turned.
Victoria stood in the doorway.
Watching him.
“What are you doing?”
May you like
For some reason…
he felt like a child caught doing something wrong.
