PART 2
Years before, a security technician named Ryan had installed part of the home’s surveillance system after a series of neighborhood break-ins. Marcus wasn’t asking him to break into anyone’s private account — he only wanted to review the cloud backups tied to the home network he paid for and managed himself.
Ryan pulled up several old auto-saved files.
The first clip looked harmless at a glance. Sarah was making breakfast in the kitchen while Lily sat at the island. Then Sarah drew a small glass bottle from her sweater pocket, tilted her hand over Lily’s orange juice, and slid the bottle out of sight again.
“Play that again,” Marcus said quietly.
In another clip, Lily paced anxiously around the living room while Sarah held up her phone.
“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 said a word.
At 1:17 PM, Marcus pulled back into his driveway in Greenwich.
Sarah stood near the front entry, dressed to go out. Her smile vanished the instant she saw him with 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 stepped toward him quickly. “Marcus, you can’t just disrupt her routine like this—”
Lily appeared from her bedroom, clutching her backpack against her chest.
Marcus took her small hand. “Yes, I can.”
As they walked out together, Sarah still had no idea about the far worse truth waiting for her: Marcus already knew exactly who Julian was.
