Chapter 2: The Deleted Ninety-Three Minutes
Vanessa stared at the screen as if the words might rearrange themselves.
They didn't.
I turned the phone toward her.
“You changed the camera settings.””
Her eyes moved across the notification.
“I didn't.””
“The system says you did.””
“Then the system is wrong.””
Maya let out a bitter laugh.
“That's convenient.””
Vanessa looked at her.
“Don't start.””
“You're the one who said the camera malfunctioned.””
“I thought it had.””
“You knew.””
“I didn't know anything.””
I held up a hand.
“Both of you, stop.””
I needed answers, not shouting.
I walked back to the bookcase and crouched beside the lockbox.
The key was still hanging inside the little ceramic bowl where we kept spare keys.
I picked it up.
Vanessa noticed.
“You think I took it?””
“I didn't say that.””
“You're looking at me like I did.””
“I’m looking at everyone.””
She folded her arms again.
“Then look at Maya.””
Maya stared at her.
“What does that mean?””
“It means you should ask your daughter who else knew about the money.””
“I already did.””
“And?””
“She said you knew.””
Vanessa's face tightened.
“I knew because you told me.””
I turned.
“When did I tell you?””
“Last week.””
“No, I didn't.””
“You did.””
“Where?””
“In the kitchen.””
“When?””
She paused.
“Thursday.””
I shook my head.
“Thursday, I was at the office until eight.””
“You came home afterward.””
“I didn't tell you about Maya's tuition.””
Vanessa's lips pressed together.
“You must have forgotten.””
That answer bothered me more than an outright denial.
Maya walked toward us.
“Dad, there's something else.””
“What?””
She opened her laptop.
“I didn't tell you because I didn't want to cause a fight.””
“Tell me.””
“Last Friday, Vanessa asked me how much the tuition was.””
Vanessa immediately interrupted.
“I was making conversation.””
“You asked me if it was twelve thousand.””
Vanessa's eyes flashed.
“I remembered the amount.””
“You said, ‘That's a lot to leave sitting around.’”
I looked at Vanessa.
“Did you say that?””
“I don't remember.””
Maya's voice became quieter.
“You also asked where I kept it.””
Vanessa shook her head.
“No.””
“Yes.””
“No, I didn't.””
“You did.””
“Enough.””
I stepped between them.
“Why didn't you tell me this before?””
Maya looked down.
“Because you always defend her.””
Vanessa flinched.
“That isn't fair.””
Maya looked at me.
“I told you once that she asked me about my savings.””
I searched my memory.
I remembered the conversation.
Barely.
Maya had mentioned Vanessa asking about money while they were preparing dinner.
I had dismissed it as ordinary curiosity.
Now I wished I hadn't.
I returned to the security app.
“I'm going to recover the deleted footage.””
Vanessa shook her head.
“You can't recover something that's been deleted.””
“Maybe.””
“You're wasting your time.””
“Why are you so sure?””
She didn't answer.
I connected the security system to my laptop.
The camera software showed a log of every setting change.
There were three changes that night.
At 11:43 p.m., the viewing angle changed.
At 11:44 p.m., recording quality dropped.
At 11:45 p.m., motion detection was disabled.
Then at 1:17 a.m., everything returned to normal.
My hands went cold.
Whoever had done this knew exactly how the system worked.
This wasn't someone accidentally bumping the camera.
Maya leaned over my shoulder.
“Can you see who changed it?””
“Not yet.””
I opened the access history.
Three devices were listed.
Mine.
Maya's.
Vanessa's.
But there was something strange.
The device used at 11:43 p.m. wasn't Vanessa's phone.
It was an older tablet.
A tablet we hadn't used in months.
I looked toward Vanessa.
“Where's the old tablet?””
Her eyes widened.
“I don't know.””
“It used to be in the bedroom.””
“I haven't touched it.””
I walked upstairs.
Vanessa followed.
“Where are you going?””
“To look.””
“Why?””
“Because it's my house.””
She stopped arguing.
In our bedroom, I opened the closet.
The tablet wasn't there.
I checked the nightstand.
Nothing.
Then I noticed the drawer.
It was slightly open.
Inside were old chargers, receipts, batteries, and a folded envelope.
I pulled it out.
The handwriting on the front made my heart stop.
*MAYA — TUITION*
Maya appeared behind me.
“Dad?””
I opened the envelope.
Empty.
She covered her mouth.
“I've never seen that.””
Vanessa stood in the doorway.
For the first time since this started, she looked genuinely frightened.
I turned toward her.
“You said you didn't know anything.””
“I don't.””
“Then why is an envelope with Maya's name on it in our bedroom?””
She stared at it.
“I've never seen that envelope.””
I held it up.
“Someone put it here.””
Maya whispered, “Why?””
Nobody answered.
Then something clicked in my mind.
The envelope wasn't the original one.
The paper was different.
I remembered the envelope I had given Maya. It had been a thick bank envelope with a blue stripe.
This one was plain white.
I turned it over.
There was a faint rectangular impression on the back, as though something had been taped there.
I rubbed my thumb over it.
A tiny strip of clear plastic lifted from the paper.
Underneath was a handwritten number.
*2419.*
Maya frowned.
“What is that?””
“I don't know.””
Vanessa suddenly said, “Throw it away.””
I looked at her.
“Why?””
“Because it's nothing.””
“How do you know?””
She didn't respond.
I walked downstairs.
Maya followed.
Vanessa remained upstairs.
At the kitchen table, I spread everything out.
The envelope.
The camera logs.
The security access history.
Then I noticed something I hadn't seen before.
The old tablet wasn't missing.
It had connected to the network at 11:42 p.m.
Its last known location was inside the house.
I checked the connection history.
The signal had come from downstairs.
Near the living room.
Near the camera.
Maya leaned closer.
“Dad…”
“What?””
“Look at the timestamp.””
I did.
The tablet connected one minute before the camera was turned toward the wall.
Then I heard footsteps.
Vanessa came downstairs.
She had changed clothes.
She was wearing jeans and a sweater.
She picked up her purse.
“I'm leaving.””
I stood.
“Where?””
“I'm going to my sister's.””
“Why?””
“Because I don't want to be interrogated in my own home.””
I stepped in front of the door.
“Not until we figure this out.””
Her eyes hardened.
“You can't stop me.””
“I'm not stopping you.””
I moved aside.
“But before you go, answer one question.””
“What?””
“Who is Denise?””
Vanessa froze.
I hadn't expected the reaction.
Her purse slipped slightly from her shoulder.
Maya looked at me.
“Who is Denise?””
Vanessa's face went pale.
“I don't know anyone named Denise.””
“Really?””
“Yes.””
“Then why did you react like that?””
“I didn't.””
“You did.””
She opened the door.
I followed her onto the porch.
“Vanessa.””
She stopped.
I held up my phone.
“The camera wasn't the only thing someone accessed last night.””
She turned slowly.
“What else?””
I looked at the security log.
“Someone accessed an archived file.””
Her face changed again.
“What file?””
“I don't know yet.””
“Then why are you asking me?””
“Because the file has a name.””
I paused.
“It says ‘Denise.’”
Vanessa stared at me.
Then, barely above a whisper, she said, “You don't know what you're looking for.””
Before I could respond, a car pulled up across the street.
A woman I had never seen before stepped out.
She carried a brown leather folder.
She walked directly toward our house.
Vanessa saw her.
And all the color disappeared from her face.
The woman stopped at the gate.
“Are you Daniel Carter?””
I nodded.
May you like
She held up the folder.
“My name is Denise.””
