Turning the corner, he stopped abruptly. The sight before him froze him in place: his daughter kneeling on the floor among broken glass, her hands bleeding, her face wet with tears. And nearby stood his wife, arms crossed, watching with visible annoyance.
“What’s happening here?” Nathan asked quietly.
Vanessa spun around. For just a fraction of a second, something dark flickered across her expression—cold and cruel.
But then she forced a smile.
“Sweetheart… I didn’t expect you back today. It was just a minor accident. You know how children are…”
Nathan didn’t move to hug her.
He didn’t say a word.
His gaze remained fixed on Sofia.
And that was when he noticed it.
It wasn’t sadness in her eyes.
It wasn’t guilt.
It was fear.
A deep fear. An old fear. The kind that grows quietly over time.
The kind of fear that doesn’t appear in a single moment… but slowly takes root.
And just as Nathan stepped closer to his daughter… he saw something else.
In the upper corner of the ceiling, a tiny red light blinked steadily.
The security camera was recording.
How long had this been going on?
What else had that camera captured?
And what would Nathan uncover when he finally watched the footage?