Chapter 1 - THE VOICE BEHIND THE CAMERA
Vanessa had both hands on my shoulders when she jerked me backward at the top of the staircase.
“You were never supposed to see us.”
My back struck the wall.
Pain shot through my shoulder, but my first instinct was lower.
My baby.
I wrapped one arm around my eight-month belly and reached for my phone with the other.
Vanessa kicked it across the hardwood.
“Stay away from my baby!”
The front door opened downstairs.
Daniel looked up.
“Rachel?”
He took the stairs two at a time.
Vanessa’s expression changed before he reached us.
Her mouth trembled.
Her shoulders collapsed.
By the time Daniel stepped between us, she was crying.
“What the hell happened?”
“She attacked me.”
I stared at her.
Vanessa pointed toward the small security camera above the landing.
“Check it. She came at me first.”
She sounded almost relieved.
That bothered me.
Daniel grabbed the portable home-security monitor from the console.
“Fine.”
He opened the staircase feed.
Vanessa wiped her eyes.
I watched her watching Daniel.
Not the screen.
Daniel dragged backward through the recording.
The picture blurred.
Then audio came through.
A man’s voice.
Low.
Calm.
Unknown.
“Don’t argue with the pregnant one. Make her look unstable and let Daniel defend you.”
Daniel stopped playback.
Vanessa stopped crying.
He looked at her.
“What was that?”
She said nothing.
Daniel rewound.
The man continued.
“Once Rachel’s out of the house, you get me the Carter files. Friday is the deadline.”
Daniel slowly turned toward Vanessa.
I forgot the pain in my shoulder.
“What files?”
Vanessa backed away.
Daniel rotated the monitor toward her.
“Who is that man?”
Her face went white.
She looked toward the front door.
Daniel moved between her and the stairs.
Not touching her.
Just blocking the easiest exit.
Vanessa stared at the monitor.
Then whispered something I barely heard.
“You don’t know what your family did.”
Daniel’s expression hardened.
“What family?”
Vanessa looked directly at him.
May you like
“Yours.”
And suddenly the affair I had discovered ten minutes earlier was no longer the ugliest secret in our house.
