Chapter 2: The Recording Nobody Was Supposed To See
I stared at the message on Emma’s phone.
The kitchen felt smaller.
The walls felt closer.
Bianca was no longer pretending to be calm.
“Delete that,” she said.
Emma looked up.
“What?””
“Delete it right now.””
The confidence in Bianca’s voice was gone.
I noticed it immediately.
For months, she had always been composed. Perfect hair. Perfect smile. Perfect words.
But now?
She looked scared.
I handed Lucy to Emma.
“Take her to the living room.””
Lucy held onto my hand.
“Daddy, don’t leave me.””
I bent down and looked into her eyes.
“I’m not leaving you.””
She studied my face carefully.
“Promise?””
I nodded.
“I promise.””
Emma gently led her away.
The second Lucy disappeared from the kitchen, I turned back.
“Who sent that message?””
Nobody answered.
Marcus looked at the floor.
Bianca looked away.
That was enough.
“Interesting,” I said quietly.
Bianca crossed her arms again, but the movement was weaker this time.
“You’re making assumptions.””
“No,” I replied.
“I’m asking questions. You’re the one avoiding them.””
Marcus stepped forward.
“Vittorio, this is getting out of control.””
I looked at him.
“Was it funny?””
His eyebrows moved.
“What?””
“Watching a three-year-old cry.””
Marcus swallowed.
“I didn’t know she would take it seriously.””
The room went silent.
I stared at him.
“You thought humiliating a child was a joke?””
Marcus didn’t answer.
Bianca quickly interrupted.
“Stop attacking my family.””
I laughed once.
Not because anything was funny.
Because I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.
“Your family?””
I pointed toward the hallway.
“My daughter was on the floor eating from a dog bowl.””
Bianca’s expression hardened.
“She needs structure.””
“No.””
I shook my head.
“She needed kindness.””
A sound came from the living room.
Lucy was crying.
I immediately turned toward the door.
Emma appeared a moment later.
“She’s okay. She just heard voices.””
That hurt more than anything.
My daughter was afraid inside her own home.
I walked into the living room and sat beside her.
Lucy climbed into my lap.
“Daddy?””
“Yes?””
“Is Bianca mad because I’m bad?””
My heart broke.
I brushed her hair away from her face.
“No, Lucy. You did nothing wrong.””
“Then why did she put my food there?””
I looked at the doorway.
Bianca was standing there.
Watching.
Waiting.
I stood up slowly.
“Because she made a choice.””
Bianca’s eyes narrowed.
“Be careful, Vittorio.””
The warning in her voice was clear.
But it didn’t scare me anymore.
“What does that mean?””
She stepped closer.
“You don’t know everything about what’s happening here.””
“Then tell me.””
She stayed silent.
That silence told me more than any answer could.
Later that afternoon, Emma helped me search through the tablet.
There were dozens of videos.
Most were harmless.
Family dinners.
Shopping trips.
Random moments around the house.
Then we found a hidden folder.
The name was simple.
“Lucy.””
I felt my stomach drop.
Emma looked at me.
“Vittorio…”
I opened the folder.
Inside were videos recorded over several months.
I watched the first one.
Lucy sitting alone at the dining table.
The second one.
Bianca taking away her favorite stuffed animal.
The third one.
Marcus laughing while Lucy apologized for something she didn’t understand.
Every clip made my anger grow.
Then we reached the final video.
The date was from three days earlier.
I pressed play.
The camera showed Bianca and Marcus talking in the kitchen after everyone had gone to sleep.
Bianca was whispering.
“She trusts him completely.””
Marcus smiled.
“Then make sure he never finds out.””
My breathing stopped.
Bianca looked toward the camera.
“If Vittorio marries me, everything will belong to us.””
Emma covered her mouth.
But I kept watching.
Because then Bianca said something that made my entire body go cold.
“Lucy is the only thing standing between us and everything we want.””
The video suddenly ended.
No explanation.
No ending.
Just darkness.
I looked at Emma.
She looked terrified.
Then my phone rang.
The caller ID showed a name I never expected to see.
It was Lucy’s mother.
A woman who had been missing from our lives for three years.
May you like
And when I answered, the first words she said were:
“Vittorio… you need to take Lucy and leave the house before Bianca finds out what I know.””
