Chapter 4 - THE CAMERA I FORGOT I COULD STILL ACCESS
Five years earlier, my parents’ house was burglarized.
Dad complained for months about unreliable installers.
So I did it myself.
Four exterior cameras.
Two interior cameras covering the front hallway and dining room.
Cloud backup.
Administrator access through an account I created.
When Dad upgraded the system later, I assumed my credentials were gone.
They weren’t.
At 11:14 that night, I tried the old login.
The dashboard opened.
Megan stood behind me.
“Holy hell.”
The dining-room camera was still active.
The current live feed showed empty chairs.
Red wine on the carpet.
Broken glass near the front door.
I clicked archived footage.
Easter.
4:00 p.m.
4:30.
5:00.
The family arrived gradually.
At 5:47, Bethany entered with Rosie.
I hadn’t known she was bringing her.
My parents had offered to pick Rosie up from Megan’s house so I could finish a work call before dinner.
Megan had trusted them.
So had I.
The video had audio.
Mom crouched in front of Rosie.
“Remember brave girl?”
Rosie nodded uncertainly.
Bethany laughed.
“She’s already scared.”
Dad remained seated.
“Don’t overdo it.”
For one second, hope moved through me.
Maybe he was stopping them.
Then he added:
“Marks need to last through tonight, not tomorrow.”
Megan covered her mouth.
I kept watching.
Bethany took Rosie by both upper arms.
Rosie immediately resisted.
“Stop.”
Bethany squeezed harder.
Rosie cried.
Mom said:
“Hold her still.”
Bethany:
“She’s squirming.”
Mom:
“Then grip higher.”
My hands started shaking.
Megan touched my shoulder.
“Mark.”
“I’m okay.”
I wasn’t.
But I needed every second.
Rosie cried:
“I want Daddy!”
Dad looked toward the clock.
“He’s twenty minutes away.”
Bethany released her.
Red marks already circled Rosie’s arms.
Mom examined them.
“Good.”
Good.
The word almost broke me.
Then Bethany took out her phone.
She photographed both arms.
Rosie covered her face.
Bethany pulled her hand down.
“Need the cheek.”
Mom said:
“Not yet.”
I stopped breathing.
Bethany looked at her.
“What?”
“If her cheek is bruised before Mark arrives, he’ll ask too many questions immediately.”
Dad said:
“He’ll ask anyway.”
Mom:
“We need him angry, not careful.”
There.
The strategy.
Bethany poured herself wine.
Then Rosie tried to move toward the hallway.
Bethany blocked her.
Rosie cried harder.
Bethany shoved her sideways.
Rosie’s face struck the upholstered edge of a dining chair.
Not hard enough to knock her unconscious.
Hard enough to leave the purple mark.
Mom stared.
Bethany whispered:
“Shit.”
Dad stood halfway.
Then stopped.
Mom looked at Rosie’s cheek.
“Actually…”
I felt sick.
Bethany:
“What?”
Mom:
“That works.”
Megan started crying.
I couldn’t.
Not yet.
Bethany took another photograph.
Then she crouched in front of Rosie.
“If anybody asks, who grabbed you?”
Rosie sobbed.
“No.”
Bethany:
“Say Daddy.”
Rosie shook her head violently.
Mom:
“Don’t make her repeat it now.”
Bethany stood.
“Why?”
“Because she’ll tell Mark we coached her.”
Dad laughed quietly.
“Mary, that’s the first smart thing you’ve said all day.”
My mother’s first name had barely been used in years.
Hearing Dad say it while planning around my daughter made the whole thing feel more real.
Then Mom looked toward the camera.
My stomach dropped.
For a second, I thought she knew.
She walked under it.
Reached upward.
The screen went black.
Timestamp:
6:02 p.m.
I entered the dining room at 6:11.
Nine minutes disappeared.
The camera returned at 6:23.
After I left.
Someone had disabled it for the confrontation itself.
But they had forgotten the cloud saved everything before.
Everything that proved the bruises were intentional.
Everything that proved the plan existed before I hit Bethany.
I started downloading the file.
Progress bar.
Eight percent.
Then twenty-two.
Then the screen froze.
ACCESS REVOKED.
Megan stared.
“What happened?”
The administrator dashboard disappeared.
Someone had changed the password from inside my parents’ house.
May you like
They knew I was watching.
📖 Discover who realized I still had camera access—and why the person who cut me off immediately called Bethany instead of my parents in CHAPTER 5. 👇
