Chapter 4: The Truth
1611 Words
Chapter 4: The Truth
The photo stayed on the kitchen table for an hour.
No one touched it.
No one ate breakfast.
The twins looked at it, then at us, then back down at their cereal.
Damian picked it up first.
Security is checking the cameras from five years ago, he said. His voice was flat.
Okay, I said.
He looked at me. You should not have to see this.
I am part of this, I said.
He nodded. Then he called his lawyer.
By noon the house was full of people.
Security guards. A tech guy. Mrs Delgado pacing in the kitchen.
Lily and Leo were sent to their rooms with a movie. They did not argue.
At 2pm the tech guy came down.
Sir, he said. We found something.
Show me, Damian said.
The laptop was on the dining table. Grainy black and white footage.
The study. Five years ago. Night.
Me and Damian on the floor by the fire.
The camera angle was from the bookshelf. Hidden.
Who, Damian asked.
I do not know sir, the tech said. The camera was removed the next day.
Victoria, I whispered.
Maybe, Damian said. But she did not have access to install that.
Then who.
He closed the laptop.
We need to talk to everyone who was here five years ago, he said.
That night we started.
Cooks. Drivers. Cleaners. Mrs Delgado.
Everyone said no. Everyone looked scared.
Mrs Delgado cried.
I would never, she said. I love these children.
I believe you, I said.
Damian squeezed my hand.
The next day we got another letter.
Slid under the front door.
Picture this time of me leaving the house with my suitcase five years ago.
On the back: I told you to leave. You did not listen.
Damian cursed.
This person was here then, he said. And is here now.
I am scared, I whispered.
I know, he said. He pulled me into him. I am scared too.
Friday came. No school. Snow day.
We were all in the living room. Blankets. Hot chocolate. The twins building a fort.
The doorbell rang.
Mrs Delgado answered.
Detective Morris, she said. Police.
Damian stood. In here.
The detective was older. Tired eyes. Notebook.
Mr Cole, he said. We got your report. About the harassment.
Yes, Damian said.
Any suspects, the detective asked.
My sister in law Victoria, Damian said. She has been hostile. She used to live here.
Anyone else, the detective asked.
Staff, I said quietly. Someone who was here five years ago.
The detective wrote it down.
We will look into it, he said. In the meantime, keep all letters. Do not touch them. And consider a restraining order.
After he left Damian looked at me.
You okay.
No, I said.
Come here.
We sat on the couch. The twins were upstairs.
Elena, he said.
Yes.
I should have protected you better five years ago, he said.
You did what you thought was right, I said.
I was wrong, he said.
I know.
He kissed my forehead.
That night I could not sleep. At 3am I went to the kitchen for water.
The light was on.
Damian was at the table. Papers everywhere.
What are you doing, I asked.
Looking, he said. At old employee files.
Find anything.
Maybe, he said. He held up a folder. James Carter.
Who.
He was the groundskeeper five years ago, Damian said. Fired for stealing.
And.
And he had a daughter, Damian said. Who worked here too. As a maid.
What is her name.
Claire, Damian said.
My blood went cold.
Claire, I said. Like your wife.
Yes, he said. He looked at me. She left the same week you did.
You think it is her.
I think it could be, he said.
Why would she.
Because you replaced her mother, he said quietly. In this house. In my life.
I sat down.
What do we do.
We talk to her, he said.
We found her address. A small apartment on the other side of town.
Damian wanted to go alone. I refused.
We went together. Saturday morning.
She opened the door. Maybe twenty five. Dark hair. Angry eyes.
What do you want, she asked.
Claire, Damian said. We need to talk.
I have nothing to say to you, she said.
Please, I said.
She looked at me.
You, she said. The nanny.
Yes, I said.
She let us in.
The apartment was small. Pictures of her dad on the wall.
You are the one sending letters, Damian said.
She laughed.
What letters.
Do not lie, he said.
I am not lying, she said. I do not care about you anymore.
Then who, I asked.
I do not know, she said. But I hope whoever it is makes you leave.
Why, I asked.
Because he was my father’s boss, she said. And my father died because of this place. Working 16 hour days. Heart attack. And you came and took everything.
Damian flinched.
Claire I am sorry, he said.
No you are not, she said. You are sorry you got caught.
We left.
On the drive home no one spoke.
That night there was another text.
New number.
You talked to her. Good. Now you know it is not her. Look closer.
Damian threw his phone.
Inside job, he said.
Monday morning Mrs Delgado did not come down.
I went to check. Her room was empty. Suitcase gone.
She left a note.
I am sorry. I could not watch this happen again. I quit.
Damian read it and his face fell.
She knew, he said.
Knew what.
Something, he said. And she left because of it.
We called her. No answer.
Tuesday. Another letter.
This one was in Lily’s backpack.
You think you are safe. You are not. I am in the house.
Lily found it. She came running to me crying.
I do not want to go to school, she said.
You do not have to baby, I said. I held her.
Damian called the school. Pulled them out.
We are not safe here, he said that night.
Then where, I asked.
I do not know, he said.
He looked defeated.
The next day we got a call. From Mrs Delgado.
From a payphone.
Damian, she said. It is me.
Where are you, he said.
I cannot say, she said. But you need to look at the security footage from the night Claire died.
Claire, Damian said. My wife.
Yes, Mrs Delgado said. It was not an accident.
The line went dead.
Damian stood up. Call the hospital. Get the footage.
It took two days.
We watched it in his office. Just us.
Hospital hallway. Night. Two years ago.
Claire walking. She looked sick. Tired.
Then another person. Hoodie. Face covered.
They bumped into her. She fell. Hit her head.
The person ran.
Damian paused it.
Zoom, he said.
The tech did.
The hand. A small scar on the wrist. In the shape of a C.
Claire, I whispered.
No, Damian said. That is not her scar.
Then who.
The door opened. Leo.
Daddy, he said. Can we talk.
Not now son, Damian said.
It is important, Leo said.
What.
I know who it is, Leo said.
Damian stood.
Who baby.
Victoria, Leo said. She came last month. She asked me to put something in your office. She said it was a surprise for you.
What did you put, Damian asked.
A camera, Leo said. She said it was to watch the dog.
The room went silent.
Where is it now, Damian asked.
I do not know, Leo said. She took it after.
Damian called Victoria.
She answered on the second ring.
What, she said.
It was you, Damian said.
What are you talking about.
You sent the letters. You installed the cameras. You hurt Claire, he said.
She laughed.
Prove it, she said.
The police are on their way, he said.
Good, she said. Then they can arrest your little nanny for trespassing.
She hung up.
An hour later police came. They arrested Victoria at her apartment. They found cameras. Letters. The same paper.
In interrogation she confessed.
I wanted him alone, she said. I wanted him to remember Claire. I wanted the nanny gone.
She was charged.
That night the house was quiet.
No guards at the door. No fear.
Damian and I sat in the kitchen.
It is over, he said.
Is it, I asked.
Yes, he said.
He took my hand.
I am sorry, he said. For everything.
Me too, I said.
He looked at me.
Stay, he said. Please.
I am not going anywhere, I said.
He smiled.
Good, he said.
Lily and Leo ran in.
Is it really over, Lily asked.
Yes baby, Damian said. It is over.
They hugged us both.
That night we all slept in the living room. Forts and blankets and the dog.
No letters. No texts. No fear.
Just us.
In the morning the sun was out.
Damian made pancakes.
Lily braided my hair.
Leo taught me how to play chess.
Normal. Finally normal.
At night after the kids were asleep Damian came to my room.
No questions. No fear.
He just held me.
I love you, he said.
I love you too, I said.
We lay there.
Elena, he said.
Yes.
Thank you for coming back, he said.
Thank you for asking me to, I said.
He laughed softly.
I did not, he said.
I know, I said. But I am glad I came anyway.
Me too, he said.
Outside the snow had stopped.
Inside the house was warm.
For the first time in five years, we were safe.
Chapter 4 End
- Writer
