Chapter 4: The Enemy Inside The Family
I didn’t sleep that night.
Not because I was angry.
Because I was scared.
Anger was easy.
Fear was different.
Fear came from realizing the people closest to you were capable of things you never imagined.
I sat beside Lily’s bed until sunrise.
Every few minutes, she moved in her sleep.
Every time she did, I remembered her standing in that dining room.
Small.
Terrified.
Surrounded by people who should have protected her.
At 6:30 in the morning, my phone rang.
Emma.
I answered immediately.
“Tell me you found something.””
Her voice was serious.
“I did.””
I stood.
“What?””
“There was a security system at your father’s mansion.””
“I know.””
“No, Daniel.””
She paused.
“The cameras were deleted.””
My expression changed.
“Deleted?””
“Someone removed the footage from the night Lily was hurt.””
I looked toward my daughter’s room.
“Can it be recovered?””
A few seconds passed.
“Maybe.””
I grabbed my keys.
“Do whatever it takes.””
Before leaving, I checked on Lily.
She was awake.
Sitting quietly.
“Daddy?””
I walked over.
“Yes?””
“Are you going back there?””
I hated that she already knew.
I knelt beside her.
“I have to.””
She looked scared.
“Are you going to leave me?””
My heart broke.
“Never.””
I hugged her.
“Never.””
At Bennett Holdings, Emma was waiting with a laptop open.
“We recovered a small part of the footage.””
I sat down.
The screen showed the mansion garden.
The image was blurry.
But clear enough.
Lily was walking near the fountain.
Then Victoria appeared.
Then another figure entered.
I leaned closer.
“Who is that?””
Emma shook her head.
“We don’t know yet.””
The figure approached Lily.
My hands tightened.
Then the video skipped.
A few seconds disappeared.
When it returned, Lily was already on the ground.
I stood up.
“Find that person.””
Emma nodded.
“There’s more.””
She opened another file.
A financial record.
My face changed.
“What is this?””
“Payments.””
“To who?””
Emma looked at me.
“Private security.””
I frowned.
“My father hired security?””
“Yes.””
“Why?””
She turned the screen toward me.
The payment description was visible.
*Family Correction Program.*
I stared at those words.
Correction.
That was the word my family used.
Not punishment.
Not cruelty.
Correction.
Like my daughter was a problem to fix.
My phone rang.
Unknown number.
I answered.
“Hello?””
A woman’s voice spoke quietly.
“Daniel Bennett?””
“Yes.””
“You need to stop investigating.””
My eyes narrowed.
“Who is this?””
A pause.
Then:
“Someone who knows what happened to Lily.””
I stood.
“Tell me.””
The woman lowered her voice.
“Your sister didn’t plan this alone.””
I looked at Emma.
She was watching me carefully.
“Who helped her?””
Another pause.
Then the woman said:
“Your mother.””
I froze.
“No.””
“She was there.””
My grip tightened around the phone.
“That’s impossible.””
The woman whispered:
“She watched everything.””
The call ended.
I stood completely still.
My mother.
The woman who held me when I was a child.
The woman who cried when I left home.
The woman who always said family came first.
I looked at the recovered footage again.
The blurry garden.
The hidden figure.
The missing seconds.
Something was missing.
Something everyone in my family was trying to hide.
Then Emma suddenly pointed at the screen.
“Daniel.””
I looked.
She had zoomed into the corner of the video.
A reflection appeared in the mansion window.
A person standing inside.
Watching the garden.
Watching Lily.
My breath caught.
Because I recognized the person immediately.
It was my father.
May you like
And he wasn’t surprised.
He was waiting.
