Chapter 2
Marcus did not speak.
That frightened Daniel more than Vanessa’s accusation.
“Tell him,” Vanessa said.
One officer ordered her to remain quiet.
Daniel ignored everyone except Marcus.
“You told me you didn’t know who disabled that camera.”
Marcus looked at Sophie’s bedroom monitor on the wall.
“I said we couldn’t tell from the system.”
“That is not the same answer.”
“No.”
Daniel stepped closer.
“Then give me the real one.”
Marcus exhaled.
“Your mother ordered it disconnected.”
Daniel stared at him.
“My mother?”
Vanessa laughed bitterly.
“There it is.”
Daniel’s mother, Eleanor Mercer, lived ten minutes away.
She visited almost every afternoon.
She adored Sophie.
At least Daniel had always believed she did.
“Why would my mother disable a nursery camera?”
Marcus looked ashamed.
“She said Mrs. Mercer needed privacy while preparing the nursery.”
“You obeyed her?”
“She owns part of the security company.”
Daniel felt sick.
The Mercer family business had employed Marcus for fifteen years.
His father had hired him.
Daniel had promoted him.
But technically, several family members still had authority over household security.
“Did you know Vanessa was hurting Sophie?”
“No.”
Marcus answered immediately.
“I swear.”
Vanessa laughed again.
“Ask him about the basement.”
Daniel turned.
“What basement?”
Vanessa suddenly looked nervous.
She had said too much.
Daniel saw it.
“What basement?”
“Nothing.”
He moved toward her.
The officers stopped him.
“Mr. Mercer.”
Daniel forced himself back.
Vanessa shook her head.
“She’s manipulating you.”
“Who?”
“Sophie.”
Daniel nearly lost control.
Marcus touched his shoulder.
“Sir.”
Daniel pulled away.
“Check every camera.”
“I already started.”
“Every door log. Every employee entry. Every deleted recording.”
“Yes.”
“And call my mother.”
Vanessa’s eyes sharpened.
“Don’t.”
Daniel looked at her.
That one word told him everything.
He called Eleanor himself.
She answered on the second ring.
“Daniel? It’s late.”
“Come to my house.”
“What happened?”
“Now.”
A pause.
“Is Vanessa all right?”
Daniel’s heart sank.
He had not mentioned Vanessa.
“How do you know this is about her?”
Silence.
“Mother?”
“I spoke with her earlier.”
“When?”
“Daniel—”
“When?”
“About an hour ago.”
That would have been before Daniel opened the nursery door.
“What did she tell you?”
“That Sophie was having another episode.”
Daniel’s jaw tightened.
“What episode?”
“You know how difficult she’s been.”
“She is four.”
“Four-year-olds can still manipulate adults.”
Daniel ended the call.
He could not listen anymore.
When he returned upstairs, Sophie was sitting with a female officer.
She had a stuffed rabbit against her chest.
Daniel knelt in front of her.
“Sweetheart, Grandma Eleanor is coming.”
Sophie’s face changed immediately.
Fear.
Pure fear.
“No.”
Daniel felt his chest tighten.
“You don’t want Grandma here?”
Sophie shook her head violently.
“No Grandma.”
“Why?”
“She gets mad.”
“At you?”
Sophie nodded.
Daniel sat on the carpet.
“What does Grandma do?”
Sophie looked at the officer.
Then at Daniel.
“She says I make Vanessa sad.”
“What else?”
“She says Daddy needs a real family.”
Daniel’s eyes burned.
“You are my real family.”
Sophie started crying.
“She said when the baby comes, I go away.”
The female officer looked at Daniel.
Daniel could barely speak.
“Where did she say you would go?”
“To the school.”
“What school?”
“The sleeping school.”
Daniel did not understand.
The officer did.
“A boarding school?”
Sophie nodded.
“Grandma said children live there when daddies don’t want them.”
Daniel stood so quickly that the officer flinched.
He walked into the hallway because he did not want Sophie to see his face.
His mother arrived twenty minutes later.
Eleanor entered wearing a cream coat, pearls, and the expression of someone inconvenienced by a family argument.
Then she saw the police.
Her confidence slipped.
“What happened?”
Daniel stood at the bottom of the stairs.
“You tell me.”
Eleanor glanced toward Vanessa.
Vanessa was sitting in the living room between two officers.
“Daniel, whatever Vanessa did, she is pregnant and emotional.”
Daniel stared at his mother.
“You knew.”
“I knew Sophie had behavioral problems.”
“She was tied inside a crib.”
Eleanor blinked.
“That seems excessive.”
“Excessive?”
Daniel stepped closer.
“Your granddaughter has bruises.”
Eleanor lowered her voice.
“Stop shouting.”
“Why did you disable the nursery camera?”
Her expression tightened.
“Because Vanessa asked me.”
“So she could abuse Sophie without being recorded?”
“Don’t use that word.”
“What word would you prefer?”
Vanessa suddenly shouted from the living room.
“Tell him why!”
Eleanor looked at her sharply.
Vanessa stood.
“Tell him whose idea the school was.”
Daniel turned back to his mother.
Eleanor remained silent.
“Whose idea?”
“It was an option.”
“For what?”
“For Sophie.”
Daniel laughed once.
There was no humor in it.
“You were planning to send my daughter away?”
“Not permanently.”
“You never asked me.”
“You would have refused.”
“Exactly!”
Eleanor stepped closer.
“You are not thinking clearly.”
“My daughter was terrified in my own home.”
“And you have another child coming.”
“That changes nothing.”
“It changes everything.”
Daniel stared at her.
Eleanor’s voice softened.
“Vanessa is your wife. She is carrying your son. She needs peace. Sophie has made this pregnancy impossible.”
Daniel could not believe what he was hearing.
“She is four years old.”
“She is jealous.”
“She is afraid.”
“Because you encourage dependency.”
Daniel’s hands shook.
His own mother had watched Sophie cry.
Had heard Vanessa complain.
Had apparently decided the solution was removing Sophie.
“Get out.”
Eleanor blinked.
“What?”
“Leave my house.”
“You don’t mean that.”
“I do.”
“This house belongs to the Mercer trust.”
Daniel smiled coldly.
“No. It did until Dad transferred his share to me.”
Eleanor’s face changed.
Daniel continued.
“You have no authority here.”
“You cannot cut me off from my grandchild.”
“You helped terrorize her.”
“That is ridiculous.”
Daniel pointed toward the door.
“Leave.”
Eleanor did not move.
Then Marcus entered the room holding a tablet.
“Sir.”
Everyone looked at him.
“I found a backup.”
Vanessa went completely still.
Eleanor whispered, “What backup?”
Marcus looked at Daniel.
“The nursery camera wasn’t fully disabled.”
“What does that mean?”
“It stopped uploading to the main security system.”
Marcus swallowed.
“But the camera had internal storage.”
Daniel felt cold.
“How much?”
“Twenty-eight days.”
Vanessa suddenly moved toward Marcus.
An officer grabbed her.
“No!”
Everyone stared.
Vanessa fought against the officer.
“You cannot watch that!”
Daniel took the tablet.
The first recovered clip showed the empty nursery.
Marcus skipped forward.
Then Sophie appeared.
Vanessa pushed her into the room.
Eleanor walked in behind them.
Daniel stopped breathing.
On the video, Sophie was crying.
Eleanor closed the door.
Vanessa pointed toward the crib.
And Daniel heard his mother’s voice through the camera microphone.
“If she wants to behave like a baby, treat her like one.”
Daniel looked up.
Eleanor had gone pale.
The recording continued.
Sophie begged them to stop.
Vanessa lifted her.
Eleanor pulled a strap from a drawer.
Daniel could no longer hear anything except Sophie crying.
An officer stepped beside him.
“Mr. Mercer, give me the tablet.”
Daniel did not move.
The officer gently took it from his hands.
Eleanor backed toward the door.
“This is being misunderstood.”
The officer looked at her.
“Mrs. Mercer, you’re not leaving.”
Eleanor stared at Daniel.
“You would let them question your own mother?”
Daniel looked toward the staircase.
Sophie stood at the top.
She had heard everything.
Her small face was wet with tears.
Daniel walked past Eleanor without answering.
He climbed the stairs.
Sophie raised her arms.
He picked her up.
Behind him, Eleanor shouted his name.
Daniel kept walking.
Then Sophie whispered something against his ear.
“Daddy.”
“Yes?”
“There was another lady.”
Daniel stopped.
May you like
“What lady?”
“The lady Grandma made me call Mommy.”
