CHAPTER 8: THE FOOTAGE

"What do you mean, he is looking for you?" I whispered.

"Exactly that," the system replied. "Watch."

A blue screen appeared in front of my eyes and began to flicker. At first, all I could see was static. Then the picture became clear.

A huge glass office came into view. There was a dark desk in the middle of the room and a city shining behind the windows.

Ethan sat alone in front of a laptop. His tie was loose, and his jaw was tight.

"You can see him?" I asked.

"The Regret Meter measures his reactions," the system explained. "I show you what affects it."

"That is creepy."

"That is useful."

Alabella let out a small cry from the bed. I picked her up and gently rocked her against my shoulder.

"Shh, my little star. Mama is working."

"You can do two things at once," the system said.

"I have to. I am a mother now."

On the laptop screen, a video began to play.

I watched myself pushing the baby cycle through the Lead Street Mall. My daughters were wrapped in blankets, and my hair was a mess.

"Six million?" my recorded voice asked. "Just for buying clothes?"

Ethan suddenly stopped the video.

"Six million," he repeated. "Six million what?"

He moved the video backward and played it again.

"Six million? Just for buying clothes?"

Then he pressed pause.

"Who is she talking to?"

"He heard me," I said. My stomach twisted with fear. "Can he hear you too?"

"Only what the camera recorded," the system replied. "My voice is faint on the recording."

I held my breath.

On the screen, Ethan turned up the volume. A faint but clear voice came through the speakers.

"Host, today's task is clothing."

Ethan went completely still.

"Host?" he whispered.

"Oh no," I breathed.

My heart began to pound.

"Do not panic," the system said. "He cannot explain what he heard. Nobody can."

Ethan dragged the video forward.

I saw myself at the counter, handing over the black card. Then I heard the sales assistant say, "Your total comes to seven hundred thousand dollars."

Ethan pressed pause again.

The frozen picture showed my five daughters lying in a row, their tiny faces turned toward the lights.

He stared at them for a long time.

"Five," he said quietly. "And I never held even one."

He rubbed his chest as if something inside him hurt.

"He is starting to feel it," the system said softly.

"Feel what?"

"The first crack."

Ethan's phone rang. He glanced at the screen and answered the call on speaker.

"Mother."

"Ethan," Margaret's voice came through the speakers. "Have they found her?"

"Not yet. I told the men to check every taxi company in the city."

"Good. She cannot hide forever."

"Mother, listen. I'm watching the mall footage."

"Why would you waste your time watching that?"

"Because she spent seven hundred thousand dollars in one afternoon, and then something strange happened."

"What strange thing?"

"She talked to someone, but nobody was there."

Margaret went silent for a moment.

"She is unstable, Ethan. She had a difficult delivery. Women lose their minds."

"She was not unstable. She was calm. She answered questions that nobody asked."

"What questions?"

"I don't know. That's why I'm asking you."

"Ethan, stop this nonsense."

"A voice said, 'Host.' Clear as day."

"You are tired. You have been shouting all day."

"I know what I heard."

"Then you heard stress," Margaret snapped. "Forget her. Ava is waiting for you at home."

"Mother..."

"Do not let a thief fill your head with ghosts. She is a gold digger who spent your money."

"Mother, she is not a gold digger. She paid for everything with the card I gave her."

"And what did that card buy? Five girls and a lie."

"They are my daughters."

"They are a mistake. Do not forget what the board expects."

Ethan rubbed his forehead.

"Spending my money. That's the part that doesn't make sense."

"What part?" Margaret asked.

"I checked the card. She spent seven hundred thousand dollars. Nothing more."

"So?"

"So, where did she get the money for the hotel? She arrived at the Eastwood in a taxi with five babies, and she had no luggage."

"She is lucky."

"Mother, she walked into our hotel as if she owned it."

"Enough!" Margaret shouted. "Find her, Ethan. Bring back the girls, or at least make sure she signs another paper. Then forget her."

The call ended.

Ethan stared at his phone for a moment before making another call.

"Report," he said.

"Sir, we checked three taxi companies," a man answered. "Nothing yet."

"The taxi left from the hotel alley. Somebody must have seen it."

"We are asking around, sir."

"Ask harder. Check hotels, clinics, and every rental office in Brooklyn."

"Yes, sir."

He ended the call and played the video again.

"Six million? Just for buying clothes?"

"Why does it matter?" I whispered. "He is only guessing."

"Because he is clever," the system replied. "Ethan is cold, Host, but he is not stupid. That is why he is dangerous."

"Then why did you let him hear you at all?"

"I did not let him. The camera recorded me."

"Next time, warn me."

"Next time, whisper."

I shook my head.

"What can he find?"

"Nothing. You have a new account, a new house, and no Sterling name. His men will search for a woman with five newborn babies. There are no records yet."

"And the video? Will it spread?"

"Not unless someone leaks it."

"Who would leak it?"

"Someone who hates Margaret."

I looked at my daughters. Their small chests rose and fell as they slept.

"And what if he finds us?"

"Then you will be ready."

"Ready for what?"

"For the day he regrets everything."

"That sounds nice."

"It will feel nicer."

A small, dark part of me wanted him to find us tonight, just so I could see the look on his face.

"That part will be rewarded later," the system said.

I looked up in surprise.

"Can you read my thoughts?"

"Only the loud ones."

I smiled in the darkness.

On the blue screen, Ethan leaned back in his chair and rubbed his face with both hands.

"Where did you go, Clara?" he muttered. "Who is Host?"

He zoomed in on Aurelia, whose eyes were wide open.

"She is looking at the camera," he said. "As if she is looking at me."

"She is," I whispered.

Ethan pressed play one last time.

The video reached the end of the mall scene, and the system's voice rang through his speakers, clear as a bell.

"Host, your lucky stars have earned this."

Ethan leaned closer to the screen, his eyes wide.

"Lucky stars," he whispered. "My daughters?"

"Host, he is guessing," the system said. "Let him."

Then the blue screen in front of me flickered.

When the picture returned, Ethan was standing and stepping away from his desk.

His laptop began to flash. Blue letters appeared on the white screen of the video player, moving across it one line at a time.

"Regret Meter: 4 percent."

"Host," the system said quietly. "I let him see that."

"You what?"

"He needs a reason to keep wondering."

"And what if he figures it out?"

"He will not, Host."

"He will tear this city apart!"

"He already is."

On the blue screen, Ethan stared at the words. His lips moved slowly as he read them.

"Regret... Meter?"

Then he lifted his head and looked straight into the camera, as if he knew I was watching him.

"Clara," he said. "I will find you."

"Ding!"

The system's voice rang out.

"Host, he is coming for you now."