Chapter 4 - The Missing Hours
Arthur walked toward Margaret.
“Give me the phone.”
She placed it inside her handbag.
“You’re emotional.”
“You broke into my office.”
“I used the key you gave me years ago.”
“That key was for emergencies.”
“This is an emergency. My grandson is being kept beside an unstable woman.”
Arthur stopped inches from her.
“Elena is in that bed because you drugged her.”
Margaret’s expression did not change.
“Be careful what you accuse me of.”
“The hospital found a sedative in her robe.”
“Then perhaps your wife took it herself.”
Arthur’s hands curled into fists.
Margaret leaned closer.
“You already assaulted me in front of witnesses. Do you really want to threaten me in a hospital?”
A police officer approached from the nurses’ station.
Margaret immediately softened her voice.
“Officer, thank goodness. My son struck me tonight, and I’m afraid for the baby.”
Arthur stared at her.
She had planned every step.
Officer Daniels separated them and listened to both accounts. Margaret displayed her swollen cheek and produced the guardianship document.
“This gives me temporary custody,” she said.
“It is fraudulent,” Arthur replied.
“That is for a judge to decide.”
The officer reviewed the document.
“Until its validity is determined, no one is removing the child from the hospital.”
Margaret smiled faintly.
That was all she needed—a delay.
Arthur called the security company and demanded immediate access to the preserved footage.
The agent sent him a temporary link.
There were cameras in the kitchen, living room, front entry, and hallway. The nursery camera had been disconnected three days earlier.
Arthur opened the kitchen feed.
At 8:12 that morning, Elena appeared carrying a basket of laundry. She moved slowly, one hand pressed against her abdomen.
Margaret followed her with a spray bottle and cloth.
At 9:43, Elena tried to sit down.
Margaret pulled the chair away.
At 11:17, Elena reached for her phone.
Margaret snatched it and slipped it into her cardigan pocket.
At 1:05, Elena attempted to enter the nursery.
Margaret blocked the door.
The footage had no audio, but Elena’s desperation was visible.
At 3:22, Walter arrived.
Margaret placed papers on the table.
Elena shook her head repeatedly.
Then Margaret lifted something from the bassinet.
Leo.
She carried the baby out of camera range.
Elena signed.
Arthur’s vision blurred with rage.
But the most important hours were missing.
Between 3:30 and 6:40, the footage became a black screen.
Someone had covered the kitchen camera.
At 6:41, the image returned.
Elena was already on the floor.
The relatives were seated around the table.
Margaret was carving the chicken.
Arthur replayed the moment before the blackout.
In the reflection of the microwave door, he saw someone standing behind Elena.
A man wearing dark trousers and medical gloves.
Arthur enlarged the image.
The face remained hidden.
But the man wore a heavy gold ring bearing the Bennett family crest.
Only three men owned that ring.
Arthur.
His late father.
May you like
And Walter.
👉 Walter claimed he had only witnessed a signature, but the reflection in the kitchen suggested he had helped Margaret restrain Elena.
