Chapter 2 - The Woman I Had Trusted
I muted the intercom.
For a second, I stood motionless in the middle of my own living room.
Rebecca Vale had been inside my home for nearly a decade.
She knew my children's birthdays.
She knew Lauren's favorite flowers.
She had organized our anniversary dinners, managed Christmas donations, and sat in the second row at my wife's funeral.
I had once told Lauren that Rebecca was the most dependable person we employed.
Now my five-year-old sons were terrified of hearing her voice.
"Mr. Morrison?"
Annie was watching me.
"What do you want me to do?"
I looked at Jordan.
Then Justin.
"Take them to the guest room beside my study."
"Why there?"
"There's a lock on the inside, and the room connects to the study."
Annie nodded.
"Come on, boys."
Justin clung to her.
Jordan hesitated.
"Daddy?"
"Yes?"
"Are you coming?"
I looked at my son.
There was a time when that question would have irritated me.
Another interruption.
Another request I couldn't fulfill.
Tonight it sounded like an indictment.
"I'll be right there."
He studied my face.
"Really?"
"Really."
They left through the side hallway.
I waited until their footsteps disappeared.
Then I unmuted the intercom.
"Rebecca."
"Good evening, Mr. Morrison."
Her voice was as composed as ever.
"I wasn't expecting you home until later."
"I finished early."
"How wonderful."
I watched the security monitor.
Rebecca stood beside a dark-blue sedan, wearing a cream trench coat.
Her red hair was pinned neatly at the back of her head.
She held a leather portfolio under one arm.
"Is something wrong?" she asked.
"Why would anything be wrong?"
"A security alert came through while I was driving."
My eyes moved to the monitor.
"What alert?"
"The master-bedroom door."
My blood chilled.
She had received an alert when I forced open the bedroom door.
That explained how she knew someone had entered a restricted room.
But why had she configured the alert?
"One of the locks jammed," I said.
"How unfortunate."
Her expression barely changed.
"I'll have maintenance address it tomorrow."
I pressed the gate-release button.
"Come inside."
She smiled at the camera.
"Of course."
I had seventeen seconds before she reached the front entrance.
I called my head of security.
Marcus Bell answered on the second ring.
"Mr. Morrison?"
"Where are you?"
"At the operations office."
"Is anyone on the night shift?"
"Two guards at the gate and one in the surveillance room."
"Who has administrative access to the residence cameras?"
A pause.
"Me, you, and Ms. Vale."
"Remove Rebecca's access."
Another pause.
"Sir?"
"Immediately."
"Is there a problem?"
"I don't know yet."
I lowered my voice.
"But I need you at the house."
"Ten minutes."
"And Marcus?"
"Yes?"
"Come alone."
I ended the call.
The front door opened.
Rebecca entered with the easy confidence of someone who believed every room belonged to her.
"Daniel."
She rarely used my first name.
Only when we were alone.
"You're home early."
"So are you."
She set down her portfolio.
"My appointment ended."
"With whom?"
Her smile tightened.
"A personal matter."
I nodded.
"How are the boys?"
A tiny pause.
"Restless, as usual."
"Have they been difficult?"
"I'm afraid so."
She sighed.
"The new housekeeper may be encouraging some unhealthy attachments."
I kept my expression neutral.
"What do you mean?"
"Annie Reed has been allowing them to ignore routines."
"Such as?"
"Staying in rooms where they don't belong."
Her eyes flicked toward the staircase.
"Lauren's bedroom, for example."
I watched her carefully.
"How would you know?"
"The staff keeps me informed."
"Which staff member?"
She blinked.
"Daniel, I don't keep a detailed record of every conversation."
"Rebecca."
Something in my voice made her straighten.
"Who told you Annie was in the bedroom?"
She folded her hands.
"The security system."
I said nothing.
She continued.
"Someone forced the door open."
"That was me."
"Oh."
A beat passed.
"I hope nothing valuable was damaged."
I studied her.
"Why was Lauren's bedroom locked?"
"Because you instructed me to preserve her belongings."
"Preserving belongings doesn't require locking my children out."
"You said the room was upsetting them."
Had I?
I tried to remember.
After the funeral, grief had transformed entire weeks into fragments.
I remembered telling Rebecca I couldn't bear seeing Lauren's clothes.
I remembered asking her to handle everything.
But I couldn't remember telling her to keep the twins away.
"Did Lauren ever keep a silver phone?" I asked.
Rebecca's face changed so slightly that I almost missed it.
A tiny tightening around the mouth.
"No."
"You're certain?"
"Absolutely."
"She had a second phone for work."
"Then perhaps someone at the company knows what happened to it."
"Perhaps."
I let the silence stretch.
Rebecca reached for her portfolio.
"If you'll excuse me, I have several invoices requiring approval."
"Leave them."
"Daniel—"
"Tomorrow."
She looked toward the stairs again.
"Where are the boys?"
"Sleeping."
"Both?"
"Yes."
Her fingers tightened around the leather handle.
"Where?"
I smiled faintly.
"Does it matter?"
She gave a soft laugh.
"Only because Justin has been having such trouble."
"They're fine."
She stood very still.
Then she said, "I'm glad."
I watched her climb the stairs.
Three minutes later, Marcus Bell arrived.
He found me in the study.
"Her camera access is disabled," he said.
"Does she know?"
"No."
I shut the door.
"Marcus, I need the original police report from Lauren's accident."
He nodded.
"And the unedited footage from our residential cameras for the past six months."
His expression darkened.
"Six months?"
"Everything."
"Daniel, there's something you should know."
He hesitated.
"Two months after Mrs. Morrison died, Ms. Vale asked me to disable the camera in the upstairs nursery hallway."
My stomach dropped.
"Why?"
"She said the grief counselor had recommended more privacy."
"Did you confirm it?"
"No."
"Why not?"
Marcus looked ashamed.
"Because she told me the instruction came from you."
I turned away.
The room seemed suddenly unfamiliar.
"Can you restore the missing footage?"
"I can check the backup server."
I nodded.
"Do that."
He moved toward the door.
Then stopped.
"Sir?"
"What?"
"There was one other instruction."
I faced him.
"After the accident, Ms. Vale had the garage surveillance recordings copied to an external drive."
"Why?"
"She said the insurance company requested them."
I stared at him.
"Did the insurance company ever collect that drive?"
Marcus shook his head.
"No."
"Where is it?"
He looked toward the ceiling.
"Ms. Vale keeps it in the third-floor storage suite."
I felt my pulse begin to race.
Jordan had been telling the truth.
Rebecca was keeping things hidden upstairs.
And as Marcus left, my phone vibrated.
An unknown number had sent me a photograph.
Lauren stood beside her silver SUV in the driveway.
The timestamp was the morning she died.
May you like
And under the photograph were seven words.
YOUR WIFE NEVER LEFT HOME ALONE.
