Chapter 9 - Why Leah Came to the House
Leah had not planned to confront Derek.
She came to apologize.
For years, she believed his version of their childhood.
Celeste was unstable.
Their father was weak.
Derek protected everyone.
Leah left Virginia at eighteen and joined the Army.
Distance made Derek easier to believe.
Then a bank contacted her about a scholarship account opened in her name.
Leah had never applied for one.
The account received funds from the Vance Foundation.
Money moved through it and disappeared.
Her identity was being used.
She drove to Derek’s house.
He was alone.
At first, he pretended to be shocked.
Then she found the second phone.
Derek grabbed it.
Leah threatened to call Frank.
He pushed her into the guest room and locked the door.
He told Sarah that Leah became angry and left.
For nearly twenty-four hours, Derek brought Leah water twice.
No food.
He said he needed time to “clean up the misunderstanding.”
She heard him moving boxes.
Deleting files.
Calling Celeste.
Then Sarah entered the living room with a cleaning cloth.
Leah whispered through the door.
Sarah did not hear.
But the security camera did.
Its motion sensor activated.
The recording captured Leah’s voice.
Derek noticed the camera light.
He disconnected the home internet.
Leah had already changed the backup settings.
The video uploaded through the camera’s cellular emergency connection.
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That was the final alert Elaine sent to Frank.
Someone was trapped inside the house.
