PART 2
Years earlier, a security technician named Ryan had installed part of the home’s surveillance system after a string of break-ins in the neighborhood. Marcus didn’t ask him to hack into anyone’s private account; he simply wanted to review the cloud backups linked to the home network that he paid for and managed himself.
Ryan pulled up several older auto-saved files.
The first clip seemed insignificant at first glance. Sarah was preparing breakfast in the kitchen while Lily sat at the island. Then Sarah pulled a small glass bottle from her sweater pocket, tipped her hand over Lily’s glass of orange juice, and slipped the bottle back out of sight.
“Play that again,” Marcus said softly.
In another video, Lily was pacing nervously around the living room while Sarah held up her smartphone.
“Come on, Lily. Let’s make sure Daddy sees how you behave.”
The child was crying, begging her to stop filming. Sarah kept recording.
Then came the decisive file, logged a few days later. Sarah was on the phone, pacing near the patio doors.
“Two more episodes should be enough,” Sarah was saying into the receiver. She paused, listening. “No, Julian. Marcus still thinks the arrangement is meant to safeguard Lily’s inheritance.”
Marcus lifted his head. Ryan paused the video. Neither man spoke.
At 1:17 PM, Marcus pulled back into his driveway in Greenwich.
Sarah was standing near the front entry, dressed to go out. Her smile evaporated the moment she saw him holding his suitcase.
“What are you doing back? Did your flight get delayed?”
“Meeting was canceled.” Marcus looked past her toward the hallway. “Lily, go grab your backpack. We’re going to Grandma Evelyn’s.”
Sarah took a swift step toward him. “Marcus, you can’t just disrupt her routine like this—”
Lily appeared from her bedroom, clutching her backpack tightly to her chest.
Marcus took her small hand in his. “Yes, I can.”
As they walked out the door together, Sarah still had no idea about the far worse reality waiting for her: Marcus already knew who Julian was.
