Chapter 2 - The Camera Behind the Clock.
Dr. Keller arrived before the rain stopped.
She examined Lily at the kitchen island because Daniel refused to take her back into the dining room.
The red marks on Lily's skin came from berry concentrate and irritation caused by the cleaner, not from a serious wound.
Daniel was relieved by the medical answer and furious about everything else.
Dr. Keller washed Lily's hands carefully, applied a soothing cream, and told Daniel to keep the cleaner locked away.
Vanessa stood near the doorway with her arms folded tightly across her chest.
"I didn't know what was in that bottle," she said.
Owen looked at her.
"It says PROFESSIONAL USE on the front."
Vanessa's mouth tightened.
"I was distracted."
Daniel did not answer.
He sat with Lily on his lap and watched her breathe until the shaking in her shoulders eased.
When Dr. Keller left, Daniel carried Lily upstairs and stayed beside her until she fell asleep.
She held one of his fingers in both hands.
Just before her eyes closed, she whispered a word he did not understand.
"Snail."
Daniel leaned closer.
"What did you say?"
"The snail knows."
Then she was asleep.
Daniel returned downstairs after midnight.
Owen had removed the camera from the clock and connected it to an isolated laptop in the security office.
Vanessa was waiting in the library.
She had changed into a black robe and removed her earrings.
Without the careful dinner-table posture, she looked smaller.
"You owe me a conversation," she said.
Daniel stopped in the doorway.
"I owe Lily one."
"You think I wanted her hurt?"
"I think you watched her cry and told her to keep going."
Vanessa looked away.
"She needed boundaries."
"She's three."
"And you're never here."
The accusation struck because part of it was true.
Daniel had spent too many nights at work since Lily's mother, Claire, died two years earlier.
Vanessa knew exactly where to press.
"You asked me to help create structure," she continued.
"You said you didn't want guilt to turn you into a permissive father."
Daniel remembered saying something similar months earlier.
He had meant bedtimes, vegetables, and not buying a toy every time Lily looked sad.
He had not meant this.
"Who installed the camera?"
Vanessa's eyes flicked toward the door.
"Ask Owen."
"I already did."
Daniel stepped closer.
"He didn't."
Vanessa sat down.
"Then maybe one of your security contractors did."
"Why would a security camera be hidden inside my grandfather's clock?"
"I don't know."
Daniel watched her face.
For six months, Vanessa had been warm, organized, and patient in ways that made Blackwood House feel less empty.
He had mistaken competence for kindness.
Now every memory felt as if someone had changed the lighting.
Owen entered carrying the laptop.
"We have a problem."
Daniel turned.
"What kind?"
"The camera recorded the last six hours, but there are gaps."
He placed the laptop on the coffee table.
The footage showed an empty dining room at five thirty.
Then it jumped to Vanessa setting the table at six twelve.
Another jump erased nearly twenty minutes.
Then Lily appeared on the floor at six forty-eight.
The next continuous section began thirty seconds before Daniel opened the doors.
"That's convenient," Daniel said.
Owen nodded.
"Too convenient."
Vanessa stood.
"Are you suggesting I edited it?"
Owen did not respond.
He enlarged the metadata window.
"The clock is wrong."
Daniel frowned.
"By how much?"
"That's the strange part."
Owen pointed to the timestamps.
"It changes."
Some segments were off by seven minutes.
Others were off by nineteen.
One clip appeared to have been recorded tomorrow.
Daniel remembered Lily's words.
The little eye was watching.
Marta had apparently known about it.
Then another detail returned to him.
"Check the front gate log."
Owen opened the security system.
There was no record of Marta's car leaving Blackwood House that morning.
There was no rideshare entry.
No taxi.
No visitor pickup.
Her phone had last connected to the home's Wi-Fi at 10:14 a.m.
Then it vanished.
Daniel looked at Vanessa.
"You said she quit and left."
Vanessa stared back at him.
"That's what she told me."
Owen clicked another file.
"There is one more thing."
An outgoing gate authorization had been created at 10:09 a.m.
It listed Marta's name.
But it had been entered manually by someone inside the house.
The account used to create it belonged to Vanessa.
Daniel felt the room narrow around him.
Vanessa opened her mouth.
Before she could speak, a soft metallic sound came from the hallway.
Daniel turned.
Lily stood there in her pajamas, holding something small in her palm.
She must have slipped from bed without anyone hearing her.
Daniel hurried over.
"Sweetheart, what are you doing awake?"
Lily opened her hand.
A tiny silver snail charm rested against her skin.
"Marta gave me this."
Vanessa's face lost its color.
May you like
Lily pointed at her.
"She said don't let that lady take it."
