Chapter 4 - THE MISSING FOOTAGE
By sunrise, police had sealed the Sterling mansion.
Detective Reed’s team searched the security office while technicians examined the disabled recording system.
The main hard drive was gone.
Someone had removed it less than an hour before officers arrived.
Gordon Pike, the head of security, could not be found.
His phone had been turned off.
His apartment was empty.
His passport was missing.
To the Sterling family, his disappearance seemed convenient.
To Detective Reed, it seemed planned.
At the hospital, Daniel sat in a visitor’s chair while Emma slept.
He had refused to leave.
But Emma no longer found comfort in his presence.
Every time she opened her eyes, she remembered him saying he had known about the plan to make her appear unstable.
Near noon, Rosa arrived.
She wore a plain coat over her maid’s uniform.
A dark bruise circled her wrist.
Daniel stood when she entered.
“My mother told the staff not to leave the property.”
Rosa looked at him.
“Your mother is not the police.”
Emma pushed herself upright.
“Are you all right?”
Rosa nodded, but her eyes filled with tears.
“I should have stopped Vivian.”
“You couldn’t have known she would push me.”
“I knew she was dangerous.”
Rosa glanced toward Daniel.
Emma understood.
“You can speak in front of him.”
Rosa hesitated.
Then she removed a small memory card from her coat pocket.
“I found this three days ago.”
Daniel stepped forward.
“What is it?”
“The backup from the upstairs hallway camera.”
Emma stared at her.
“You said the security drive was removed.”
“This camera was different.”
Rosa explained that Gordon Pike had installed a private backup system after several valuable paintings disappeared from the west wing.
The hallway cameras automatically copied short recordings onto separate memory cards.
Vivian did not know about them.
“Why do you have it?” Emma asked.
“Mr. Pike gave it to me.”
“When?”
“Yesterday morning.”
Rosa said Gordon had appeared frightened.
He told her that if anything happened to Emma, she must give the card to someone outside the family.
He also said not to trust Daniel.
Daniel’s face tightened.
“What exactly did he say?”
“He said you had made a choice.”
Daniel looked away.
Emma held out her hand.
Rosa gave her the memory card.
A few minutes later, Detective Reed arrived with a laptop.
They inserted the card.
The first recording showed Vivian and Margaret standing in the upstairs hallway two nights earlier.
Their voices were faint but understandable.
“Once she signs, Daniel can file for emergency guardianship,” Margaret said.
“And after the baby?” Vivian asked.
“We’ll decide what is best for the family.”
The next clip showed Charles entering the security office.
He carried the transfer agreement and handed Gordon an envelope.
“Keep the east hallway camera offline Friday evening,” Charles ordered.
Gordon did not respond.
The third recording was from the night of Emma’s fall.
The angle did not show the staircase itself.
But it showed Vivian opening Emma’s suitcase and finding the documents inside.
It also recorded Daniel entering the hallway at six eighteen.
Emma turned toward him.
“You were at the mansion.”
Daniel stared at the screen.
The video showed him speaking to Vivian.
His voice was clear.
“Do not hurt her.”
Vivian laughed.
“Then make her sign.”
Daniel replied, “Scare her if you have to, but nobody touches the baby.”
The recording ended.
Emma’s face became completely still.
“You were there.”
Daniel stood.
“I left before the argument.”
“You knew she was going to confront me.”
“I tried to stop it.”
“You told her to scare me.”
“I was desperate.”
Detective Reed closed the laptop.
“Daniel Sterling, you are not leaving this hospital.”
Daniel’s eyes widened.
“Am I under arrest?”
“Not yet.”
Reed’s phone rang.
He answered.
His expression changed as he listened.
“Where?”
He looked at Emma after ending the call.
“We found Gordon Pike’s car.”
“Was he inside?”
“No.”
“Where was it?”
“At the Sterling family’s private hangar.”
Daniel lowered himself into the chair.
Detective Reed continued.
“There was blood in the trunk.”
Emma looked toward the laptop.
The final clip had ended only seconds after Daniel left the hallway.
But in the dark reflection of a framed painting, another figure could be seen entering the corridor.
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The person wore a dark jacket.
On the sleeve was the silver crest used by the Sterling family’s private pilots.
