Chapter seven.
1388 Words
Declan frowned as he stared at the footage.
For several moments, neither he nor Bene spoke.
The security camera showed the upstairs hallway outside Elysia's bedroom. Victoria appeared on the screen a few seconds later. She walked directly toward Elysia's room before stopping outside the door.
Declan's eyes narrowed.
He watched as Victoria bent down and appeared to slide something underneath the door. After doing so, she straightened and glanced around the hallway. The movement was subtle, but it almost looked as though she was checking to see if anyone had witnessed what she was doing.
A moment later, she turned and walked away.
Beside him, Bene shifted uncomfortably.
"What was she putting under the door?" he asked.
Declan didn't answer immediately.
Something about the footage bothered him, but it wasn't the object Victoria had slipped into Elysia's room.
It was Victoria herself.
Before they had gone to bed that night, she had complained repeatedly about a severe headache. She had looked pale and exhausted, and he'd promised to call a doctor to examine her in the morning.
Yet the woman on the screen looked nothing like the woman he remembered tucking into bed.
She wasn't moving like someone who felt unwell. Her steps were steady and purposeful. There was no hesitation in her movements, no sign of discomfort.
Declan found himself replaying the footage.
The result was the same every time.
Victoria had walked to Elysia's room, placed something underneath the door, looked around, and left.
His frown deepened.
What exactly had she put under Elysia's door?
"We should check the other footage," Bene suggested.
Declan still hadn't moved. His mind was running through possibilities.
A memory from earlier that evening suddenly flashed through his head.
The argument at the staircase.
Victoria stepping forward and placing herself between him and Elysia.
"Elysia, I understand how you feel," she had said.
Then she'd reached for Elysia.
He remembered seeing Victoria's hands land on Elysia's shoulders. He remembered Elysia immediately shrugging her off. He remembered Victoria stumbling backward and Elysia nearly losing her footing in the process.
More than anything, he remembered the fear that had flashed across Elysia's face.
At the time, he hadn't thought much about it. Everything had happened too quickly, and Victoria had immediately burst into tears afterward.
But now, after watching Victoria sneak down the hallway and slip something underneath Elysia's door, the memory didn't sit quite right with him anymore.
Declan shook his head and forced himself to focus.
"I don't know," he finally answered Bene's earlier question. "But we'll find out soon."
His eyes dropped back to the screen.
He was about to close the footage when his hand accidentally brushed the touchpad. Another recording opened.
The timestamp immediately caught his attention.
8:59 p.m.
Just minutes before the fire.
Declan straightened slightly and watched as the footage began to play.
At first, nothing happened.
Then a figure appeared on the screen.
Someone wearing a black jacket emerged from the direction of the kitchen before heading upstairs and into the hallway that led directly to Elysia's bedroom.
Declan's frown deepened.
That definitely wasn't Victoria.
He quickly zoomed in, trying to make out more details, but the image only became grainier. There was something in the person's hand. He could see that much.
Unfortunately, he couldn't tell what it was.
He couldn't even tell whether the figure was male or female.
Beside him, Bene leaned closer to the laptop.
Neither of them said a word as they continued staring at the screen.
"We're done here for now, sir."
One of the firefighters emerged from the house as he spoke.
Bene looked up from the laptop.
The fire had been extinguished, the search completed, and by morning he'd probably have to start dealing with insurance companies and damage reports.
Right now, however, none of that seemed important.
Declan nodded absently without taking his eyes off the screen.
A few seconds later, he handed the laptop back to Bene and started toward the house.
"Boss?" Bene called after him.
Declan didn't answer.
He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone.
Then he dialed Elysia's number.
He didn't know why.
He knew the chances of her answering were almost nonexistent.
Yet he found himself pressing the call button anyway.
The line began to ring.
Declan stepped over broken wood and debris as he moved deeper into the burned house.
Then he stopped.
His grip tightened around the phone.
Because somewhere inside the house, he could hear another phone ringing.
He frowned, stopping for a second before following the sound.
It led him straight to Elysia's bedroom.
The room was a mess of blackened walls, broken furniture, and debris. Part of it was still standing, while the rest had been ravaged by the fire. The bedroom door itself was gone, reduced to little more than a charred frame.
Declan stepped inside.
The ringing grew louder.
He kept his phone pressed against his ear as he followed the sound through the ruined room.
Then he stopped.
It was coming from beside the bed.
He frowned and crouched down.
A second later, his fingers closed around a familiar phone lying partly beneath the bed.
The ringing stopped the moment he ended the call.
Declan stared at the device in his hand.
Why was Elysia's phone still here?
If she'd escaped, why hadn't she taken it with her?
His grip tightened slightly before he pushed the thought aside and rose to his feet.
His eyes swept across the room.
That's when they landed on the laptop.
It sat on the table near the window, half destroyed by the fire. The screen was cracked, the edges blackened with soot, and one side looked as though it had partially melted from the heat.
He turned and walked over to it.
The laptop was half destroyed. One side had been blackened by the fire, while the screen was cracked beyond repair. Even so, it looked as though it had been open before the fire broke out, as if someone had been using it not long before everything went wrong.
Declan stared at it for a moment but didn't touch it.
There was no point.
Whatever information it contained was probably inaccessible now.
His gaze drifted across the table instead.
That's when he saw it.
A diary.
The cover had been partially burned, the edges curled and blackened by heat, but it had somehow survived.
Declan's eyes narrowed.
He couldn't remember ever seeing Elysia write in a diary before.
Reaching out, he picked it up immediately.
He wanted to open it. Before he could, footsteps sounded behind him.
Bene strode into the room and stopped at the doorway.
"Boss, your mother wants to talk to you," he said, holding out his phone.
Declan barely glanced at him.
He slipped the diary into his pocket and turned away.
"Tell her I'm not here."
Then he headed toward the bathroom.
The door was gone, leaving only a blackened frame. He stepped inside and glanced around.
The room had suffered less damage than the bedroom.
His eyes caught his reflection in the half-burnt mirror hanging above the sink.
Smoke stains covered part of his face. Ash dusted the shoulders of his shirt.
He looked as exhausted as he felt.
"But..." Bene started.
One look from Declan was enough.
Bene immediately fell silent.
Years of working together had taught him when to push and when to shut up.
Declan wasn't a man who wasted words.
Most of the time, his expression said enough.
He turned away from the mirror and his eyes landed on the bathroom trash bin.
Surprisingly, it seemed completely untouched by the fire.
Something white caught his attention.
A crumpled piece of paper sticking out from the top.
Frowning, Declan bent down and pulled it out.
What was this?
He carefully began unfolding it.
As he did, his gaze drifted around the bathroom and something else caught his eye.
A small white object partially hidden beneath a pile of debris near the cabinet.
He stared at it for a moment but couldn't make out what it was from where he stood.
His attention returned to the paper in his hands.
The last fold came undone.
Declan's eyes dropped to the bold heading at the top of the page.
Then he froze.
ABORTION CONSENT FORM.
- Writer
