Chapter 2: Secrets Behind the Mansion Walls
Chapter 2: Secrets Behind the Mansion Walls
Detectives photographed every inch of the courtyard.
The cage.
The bruises.
The broken food bowl.
The security cameras mounted beneath the roofline.
Claire noticed them immediately.
"You recorded everything?"
Victoria swallowed.
"We... we keep cameras for security."
Claire turned toward the lead detective.
"I'd like every recording from the past six months."
Victoria's face went pale.
"The hard drive... it's broken."
"It stopped working weeks ago."
Claire smiled for the first time.
It wasn't a warm smile.
"I repaired military surveillance systems overseas."
She walked directly into the mansion's security room.
Ten minutes later, the supposedly "broken" recorder came back to life.
Video after video filled the monitors.
Victoria dragging Evelyn by the arm.
Locking her inside the cage.
Throwing stale bread onto the ground.
Laughing with friends while Evelyn begged for water.
Even worse...
Claire's older brother, Daniel Carter, appeared in several recordings.
He saw everything.
He simply walked away.
The detective quietly removed his hat.
"I've investigated crimes for twenty-three years..."
"I've never seen anything this cruel."
Daniel collapsed into a chair.
"I didn't think she'd actually hurt Mom..."
Claire stared at him.
"You watched."
"You knew."
May you like
"And you chose comfort over your own mother."
Daniel couldn't answer.
