Chapter 2: The Girl With the Camera
The video shook slightly as Chloe adjusted her grip on the phone.
My bedroom appeared on the screen, dimly illuminated by the hallway light. The timestamp read 11:43 p.m. Vanessa entered wearing the same silk robe she'd worn the previous evening.
She looked over her shoulder before closing the door.
Then she walked directly to my bed.
I leaned closer.
“Can you make it bigger?”” I whispered.
Chloe tapped the screen.
The image enlarged, becoming grainy but unmistakable.
Vanessa pulled a black velvet box from her robe pocket. She lifted the mattress, slid the box underneath, and smoothed the bedding with both hands.
Then she stood there for several seconds, studying the room.
She didn't look worried.
She looked satisfied.
“Oh my God,” I breathed.
Chloe stopped the video.
“I told you.””
I sank onto the edge of my bed, staring at the frozen image of my stepmother.
For three years, Vanessa had made me feel like a guest in my own home. She'd accused me of being selfish when I asked for money for school supplies. She'd told relatives that I was difficult, ungrateful, and obsessed with my dead mother.
Now I had proof that she was willing to frame me for theft.
“Why didn't you show me this earlier?”” I asked gently.
Chloe's eyes dropped.
“Because she scares me.””
The anger inside me faltered.
Chloe was nine. She still slept with a night-light and cried when thunderstorms rattled the windows. Vanessa controlled what she wore, what she ate, and when she was allowed to call her friends.
“What do you mean, she scares you?””
Chloe twisted the ear of her stuffed rabbit.
“Last month, I heard her yelling at Mrs. Collins about some papers. When I asked what they were, Vanessa took my tablet away for a week.””
“That doesn't explain why you're scared to show me a video.””
Chloe looked toward the hallway.
“She said if I ever told Dad anything bad about her, he'd send me away because I wasn't his real daughter.””
My throat tightened.
“Chloe, that's not true.””
“She said he already has one daughter who causes problems. He doesn't need another.””
I pulled her into my arms.
“You listen to me. Dad loves you. And nothing you tell the truth about is your fault.””
She buried her face against my shoulder.
For several seconds, neither of us spoke.
Then I held out my hand.
“Can I see the rest?””
Chloe nodded and restarted the video.
After hiding the necklace, Vanessa opened the top drawer of my desk. She pulled out a folded sheet of paper, glanced at it, and slipped it into her robe pocket.
Then she moved toward the old wooden chest at the foot of my bed.
My mother's chest.
I sat upright.
“No.””
On the video, Vanessa knelt and lifted the lid.
Inside were the few things my mother had left me: her handwritten recipes, a faded photograph album, a silk scarf, and a small collection of jewelry she'd inherited from her grandmother.
The jewelry had disappeared six months earlier.
Vanessa had told me I'd probably misplaced it during a room cleanup.
I'd cried for hours that night, then felt ashamed for caring so much about things that couldn't bring my mother back.
Now Vanessa reached into the chest and removed a tiny blue velvet pouch.
She opened it.
A gold bracelet glinted beneath the bedroom light.
My mother's bracelet.
I clapped a hand over my mouth.
“That was in the chest,” I whispered.
“She told me it was gone.””
Chloe nodded.
“She took it before.””
Vanessa placed the bracelet in her pocket, then searched through the chest again. She removed a pair of pearl earrings, a delicate gold ring, and a silver brooch shaped like a flower.
Every piece belonged to my mother.
Every piece I'd spent months searching for.
The video continued.
Vanessa put the jewelry in her robe pocket and turned toward the camera's hiding place.
For one horrifying second, I thought she'd seen Chloe.
But she only walked toward the window and checked the street outside.
Then she spoke into her phone.
“Everything is ready,” she said.
“Emily will take the blame for the necklace, and Daniel will finally have a reason to cut her off.””
A man's voice answered from the phone's speaker, too faint for me to understand.
Vanessa lowered her voice.
“Don't worry about the college account. I have access now. Once the transfer clears, we'll be gone before he figures out what happened.””
My hands went numb.
Chloe paused the recording.
“What's a transfer?””
I couldn't answer immediately.
My mind was racing through every conversation I'd overheard in recent months.
Vanessa asking Dad to let her manage the college account.
Vanessa complaining that my tuition would cost too much.
Vanessa insisting that I should attend a cheaper community college instead of the university where I'd been accepted.
And Dad, exhausted from work, trusting his wife to handle the details.
“Emily?”” Chloe whispered.
I forced myself to look at her.
“The money Dad saved for college. Eighty-four thousand dollars.””
Her eyes widened.
“She wants to take your money?””
“I don't know exactly what she's planning yet.””
“But she said she would.””
“Yes.””
Chloe's lower lip trembled.
“Are you going to tell Dad?””
“Absolutely.””
I reached for my phone, but before I could dial, footsteps sounded in the hallway.
We both froze.
The bedroom door swung open.
Vanessa stood in the doorway, her phone in one hand.
Her eyes moved from me to Chloe, then to the pink device in Chloe's trembling fingers.
“What,” she asked softly, “are you two doing?””
Chloe shoved the phone behind her back.
“Nothing.””
Vanessa stepped into the room.
“Chloe, sweetheart, didn't I tell you to stay downstairs?””
“I was just talking to Emily.””
“And now you're going downstairs.””
Chloe didn't move.
Vanessa's smile disappeared.
“Did you hear me?””
I stood between them.
“She can stay with me.””
Vanessa turned her attention to me.
“You've caused enough trouble today.””
“You planted the necklace.””
The words hung in the air.
Vanessa's face became perfectly still.
Then she laughed.
It was a small, disbelieving laugh, as if I'd just told the world's most ridiculous joke.
“Excuse me?””
“I saw the video.””
Her eyes darted toward Chloe's hand.
“What video?””
Chloe began to cry silently.
Vanessa took one step forward.
“Give me the phone, Chloe.””
“No.””
The word was barely audible.
Vanessa blinked.
“What did you say?””
Chloe shook her head, clutching the phone behind her back.
Vanessa's voice sharpened.
“Give it to me right now.””
I moved closer to Chloe.
“Don't you dare touch her.””
Vanessa's face flushed.
“Emily, you have no idea what you're talking about. You're a liar, and now you're teaching my daughter to lie, too.””
“Your daughter recorded you planting evidence.””
“Enough!””
Vanessa lunged toward Chloe.
I grabbed her wrist.
For a second, the three of us stood locked together, breathing hard.
Then Vanessa twisted free and pointed toward the door.
“Both of you, downstairs. Now.””
I didn't move.
“Call Dad,” I said.
“Let him watch the video.””
Her eyes narrowed.
“Your father is in a meeting. He doesn't need to be dragged into your little fantasy.””
“Then I'll call him myself.””
I lifted my phone.
Vanessa's expression changed so quickly that it frightened me more than her shouting had.
She reached into her pocket, pulled out her own phone, and tapped the screen.
A moment later, mine vibrated.
A message from my father appeared.
Emily, Vanessa told me what happened. Don't make this worse. Stay in your room until I get home.
I stared at the words.
She had already reached him.
And whatever story she'd told, he'd believed her.
Vanessa glanced at my screen.
“See? Your father understands the situation.””
She held out her hand toward Chloe.
“Now give me the phone.””
Chloe backed away.
Vanessa's voice dropped to a whisper.
“If you don't, you'll regret it.””
I stepped in front of my stepsister again.
“You're not taking it.””
Vanessa stared at me for a long moment.
Then she straightened her robe, smoothed her hair, and smiled with chilling calm.
“Fine. Keep your little video.””
She turned toward the door.
“But remember something, Emily. Videos can disappear. Phones can break. And nobody believes a child who can't explain what she's looking at.””
She walked away, closing the door behind her.
I waited until her footsteps faded.
Then I turned to Chloe.
“Is the video backed up anywhere?””
Chloe wiped her cheeks.
“I sent it to someone.””
My heart jumped.
“Who?””
She hesitated.
“Someone who promised not to tell Vanessa.””
“Who, Chloe?””
She unlocked the phone and opened a message thread.
The contact name made my stomach drop.
*Richard — Dad's Business Partner.*
I stared at the screen.
“Why did you send it to him?””
Chloe's voice was tiny.
“Because he was the only grown-up who saw Vanessa take your mother's jewelry last time.””
I looked at her sharply.
“What?””
Chloe swallowed.
“He told Vanessa to put it back. She said she would. But she didn't.””
Before I could ask another question, Chloe's phone vibrated.
A new message from Richard appeared.
Do not let Vanessa know I have the footage. I need to tell you something about your father's college account.
May you like
Then another message arrived.
Emily, the money is already missing.
