Chapter 4 - THE SECRET INSIDE THE BLUE LAMP
I didn't sleep that night.
Patricia had been part of my life for almost five years.
She had helped manage charitable foundations.
She had advised me during legal battles.
She had stood beside my daughters at Christmas.
I had trusted her.
But now every memory had a shadow.
At 3:17 a.m., I walked into the twins' bedroom.
They were sleeping.
The blue lamp beside Sophie's bed was glowing.
I remembered Clara's notebook.
Sophie needed the blue lamp.
Always.
I walked toward it.
Something looked wrong.
The base was slightly crooked.
I picked it up.
It was heavier than it should have been.
I unscrewed the bottom.
Inside was a tiny memory card.
My heart stopped.
I called Daniel.
"Come upstairs."
He arrived within seconds.
We examined the card on an isolated computer.
There were videos.
Dozens.
My daughters sleeping.
Eating.
Playing.
Crying.
Talking.
Someone had been recording them.
For months.
I felt rage unlike anything I had experienced before.
"Find the camera."
Daniel scanned the room.
He found it inside a smoke detector.
My hands shook.
"Who installed this?"
"We're checking."
Then the screen showed a folder.
MADeline_Archive.
I opened it.
The first video was dated six months before her death.
Madeline appeared on screen.
She looked tired.
Terrified.
"Ethan, if you're watching this, I'm already gone."
I stopped breathing.
Madeline continued.
"I need you to listen carefully."
Her eyes moved toward the camera.
"I didn't leave because I stopped loving you."
My throat tightened.
"I left because someone threatened our children."
The video paused.
Then resumed.
"Your father left behind people who believed our family belonged to them. After his death, they needed someone to control the company."
Madeline swallowed.
"You became the obstacle."
I whispered her name.
She continued.
"I discovered that someone close to you has been feeding them information."
The screen flickered.
"Patricia isn't the person you think she is."
I closed my eyes.
Madeline's voice became softer.
"But she's not the worst one."
Daniel looked at me.
"Sir?"
I shook my head.
"Keep playing."
Madeline reached toward the camera.
"There's someone else."
She hesitated.
"The person who has been watching our daughters is not working for Patricia."
My blood turned cold.
"He's working for your family."
The screen went black.
Then another file opened automatically.
A photograph appeared.
My father's former business partner.
Victor Hale.
Patricia's father.
I stared.
Daniel cursed quietly.
"He's supposed to be dead."
I looked at him.
"What?"
"He died fifteen years ago."
The video resumed.
Madeline appeared again.
"Victor isn't dead."
Then she whispered:
"And he knows where our children are."
The screen went black.
A sound came from the hallway.
I turned.
One of the guards ran toward us.
"Sir!"
"What?"
"Someone breached the east gate."
I reached for my gun.
"Where?"
"North side."
I ran.
Security lights flashed.
Rain hammered the property.
A black vehicle was moving toward the woods.
Daniel shouted.
"Stop!"
The vehicle accelerated.
Security blocked the driveway.
The car crashed through the barrier and disappeared.
I ran back inside.
The girls were awake.
Avery was crying.
Sophie was holding the blue lamp.
Clara was beside them.
Then Avery said something that froze me.
"Daddy."
"Yes?"
"The man from Mommy's pictures came last night."
I crouched.
"What man?"
"The one who smiles without smiling."
I looked at Clara.
She had gone pale.
"Did he talk to you?"
Avery shook her head.
"He told us not to tell Daddy."
My blood turned to ice.
"What did he say?"
Sophie whispered.
"He said Mommy lied."
May you like
Then she looked at me.
"And he said you're next."
