Chapter 8 - WHAT THE CAMERA SAW
“Play it.”
Ethan couldn’t move.
Claire stood behind him.
“Ethan.”
“I don’t want you to see this.”
“I already lived through whatever happened.”
He pressed play.
On the screen, Evelyn held the pillow.
She stared at Claire.
Twenty seconds.
Thirty.
Then Lily made a small sound.
Evelyn looked toward the crib.
She slowly lowered the pillow.
Placed it back on the bed.
And walked out.
Claire’s breathing became shallow.
“She was thinking about it.”
Ethan closed the laptop.
“We don’t know that.”
“Yes, we do.”
He wanted to argue.
Not because he disagreed.
Because agreeing made him sick.
The restored footage went to police.
So did Claire’s old travel mug.
Testing later confirmed residue from a strong sleep-inducing medication.
Ethan sat in the parking lot outside the police station when Detective Ramirez called.
“We’re requesting additional charges.”
“Good.”
“There’s another issue.”
“What now?”
“We went to Evelyn’s residence to take her into custody.”
Ethan waited.
“She wasn’t there.”
He sat upright.
“What?”
“Her monitoring device was cut off.”
“When?”
“About forty minutes ago.”
“Find her.”
“We’re trying.”
“She knows where we are.”
“She is under a no-contact order.”
Ethan almost laughed.
“She smashed my wife’s head into a crib. You think a court order scares her?”
“Take Claire and the baby somewhere secure.”
Ethan drove straight back to the hotel.
Claire was already packing.
“How did you know?”
“Thomas called.”
Ethan stopped.
“What?”
“He said your mom disappeared.”
“How did Thomas know?”
Claire looked uneasy.
“He said she called him.”
“When?”
“Ten minutes ago.”
“What did she want?”
“She asked him for money.”
“And?”
“He refused.”
Ethan grabbed his phone.
“Where is he?”
“He wouldn’t say.”
“Of course.”
“Ethan.”
“What?”
“He sounded scared.”
“So?”
“He said your mother knows we found the recordings.”
Ethan’s face changed.
“How?”
Claire shook her head.
“Someone told her.”
They checked out under a different name and drove to Nora’s house.
Nora had offered the downstairs guest room.
They told almost nobody.
At 1:07 a.m., Ethan woke to darkness.
The power was out.
He sat up.
“Claire.”
She stirred.
“What?”
“Stay here.”
“Ethan—”
“Lock the door.”
He picked up his phone.
No signal.
The Wi-Fi was dead.
He stepped into the hallway.
A faint sound came from downstairs.
The back door creaked.
Ethan ran.
The kitchen door stood open.
Cold air rushed inside.
A chair lay overturned.
“Nora?”
No answer.
He sprinted back upstairs.
The guest-room door was open.
“Claire!”
He rushed inside.
Claire stood beside the portable bassinet.
Her face was white.
“Ethan…”
He followed her eyes.
The bassinet was empty.
The blanket was on the floor.
The window behind it stood open.
May you like
And Lily was gone.
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