The Camera

I did not sleep.

The bedroom was empty. Rex had not come back. I lay on the left side of the bed, staring at the ceiling, watching the red light of the camera blink in the dark.

Isabella was watching.

Or maybe someone else.

I sat up. Grabbed my phone. Typed a message to Lin.

Can you disable the camera in my room?

Her answer came thirty seconds later.

Already did. Thirty minutes ago. You are welcome.

I looked at the camera. The red light was off.

For the first time since I arrived at this house, I was truly alone.

I walked to the window. The garden was dark. The roses were invisible. Somewhere out there, my mother was sleeping in a room down the hall. My husband was probably in his study, drinking whiskey, staring at photographs of dead men.

My phone buzzed again.

You need to see this, Lin wrote. Turning on your TV.

The screen flickered. A video appeared.

Security footage. A hallway. A door. A woman.

My mother.

She was younger. Thinner. Her hair was darker. She stood outside a door, looking over her shoulder, like she was afraid of being seen.

Then the door opened.

A man stepped out.

Dante Marchetti.

My real father.

He grabbed her arm. Pulled her inside. The door closed.

The timestamp read fifteen years ago.

I watched the video again. Then again. Then again.

Where did you get this? I typed.

Your mother's private server. She thought she deleted it. She did not.

Send it to my phone.

Done.

I watched the video on my phone. The loop played over and over. My mother. Dante. The door.

What happened inside that room?

I needed to know.

I found my mother in the kitchen.

She sat at the table. A cup of tea in front of her. Cold. Untouched. She looked up when I walked in. Her eyes went to my phone.

"You could not sleep either," she said.

"I saw the video."

"What video?"

I held up my phone. Played the footage.

My mother's face went pale.

"Where did you get that?"

"Does it matter?"

"Yes."

"Lin found it on your private server. The one you thought was secure."

My mother stood up. Walked to the window. Her back was to me.

"That was fifteen years ago," she said.

"I know."

"Dante was alive then."

"I know."

"He was angry. He had just found out about Victor. About the affair. About you."

"What happened inside that room?"

My mother turned. Her eyes were wet.

"He hit me."

I said nothing.

"He hit me, and I hit him back. And then we... we made up. Like we always did. The fighting. The tears. The apologies. The promises. It was a cycle. A cycle I could not break."

"Until you killed him."

"Until I killed him, yes."

"Did Rex know? About the abuse?"

My mother shook her head. "No. I never told him. I just asked him to kill Dante. I did not explain why."

"He had a right to know."

"He had a right to say no. He did not."

"Because he trusted you."

"Because he owed me."

"Same thing."

"No. Not the same thing at all."

Rex walked into the kitchen. Stopped when he saw us.

"Am I interrupting?"

"Yes," my mother said.

"No," I said at the same time.

Rex looked at both of us. Then at my phone. Then at my mother's face.

"What happened?"

I held up the phone. Played the video.

Rex watched. His face did not change.

"I have seen this before," he said.

My mother's head snapped toward him. "What?"

"Your server. I found it two years ago. When I was investigating Dante's death."

"You did not tell me."

"You did not ask."

My mother sat down. Her hands were shaking.

"Everyone has been keeping secrets from me," she said. "Everyone."

"You started it," Rex said. "You faked your death. You manipulated your daughter. You used me to kill your lover. You do not get to play the victim."

"I am not playing anything. I am trying to survive."

"So are we."

The silence was heavy. I sat down across from my mother. Rex sat next to me.

"We need to work together," I said. "All three of us. Or we are going to die."

My mother looked at me. "Who is trying to kill us?"

"I do not know yet. But someone is. Someone inside this house. Someone who wants the empire."

"Isabella?"

"No. Isabella is a pawn."

"Mrs. Park?"

"No. She is a decoy."

"Then who?"

I looked at Rex. He looked at my mother.

"I have a theory," Rex said. "But you are not going to like it."

"Tell me anyway."

"Your husband. Victor. The real Victor. What if he is not dead?"

My mother shook her head. "I saw the body. I watched the doctor pronounce him dead. Heart attack. Natural causes."

"Did you see the autopsy report?"

"No."

"Did you see the burial?"

"No. I was in hiding."

"Then how do you know he is dead?"

My mother was silent.

"You do not," Rex said. "You assume. Because you wanted him dead. Because you needed him dead. Because his death made your life easier."

"You are wrong."

"Am I?"

My mother stood up. Walked to the door.

"Where are you going?" I asked.

"To find proof. That Victor is dead. That I am not crazy. That I am not the villain you think I am."

She walked out.

I looked at Rex. "Do you really think Victor is alive?"

"I think it is possible. I think we need to find out for sure."

"How?"

Rex pulled out his phone. Typed a message.

"I have someone checking the cemetery. The grave. The body. If Victor is dead, we will find his bones. If he is alive, we will find an empty coffin."

"And if the coffin is empty?"

"Then we prepare for war."

My phone buzzed.

Lin.

The traitor moved again. Accessed the security logs. Deleted footage from the night Marco died.

Can you recover it?

Already did. Sending now.

A video appeared on my phone.

The hallway outside Marco's room. The door. The timestamp.

Then a figure appeared.

Dressed in black. Face covered. Gloves on hands.

The figure entered Marco's room.

Stayed inside for seven minutes.

Came out.

Walked away.

Who is it? I typed.

Working on it. The face is covered. But I am running gait analysis. Body movement. Height. Weight. Should have an ID in a few hours.

Send it to me as soon as you know.

Obviously.

I showed the video to Rex. He watched it twice.

"The traitor is someone who knows the house," he said. "Someone who knows the camera positions. Someone who knew Marco was there."

"Someone who knew Marco was the body double."

"Exactly."

"Who knew about Marco?"

"Your mother. Isabella. Mrs. Park. Me. You."

"Four people."

"Plus whoever they told."

"Which could be anyone."

Rex nodded. "Which could be anyone."

I found my mother in the garden.

She stood among the roses. Her hands were in her pockets. Her face was tilted toward the sky.

"The traitor killed Marco," I said.

She did not turn around. "I know."

"I just found the video. Someone in black. Face covered."

"I saw it too. An hour ago."

"Lin sent it to you?"

"No. Someone else. Someone who wants me to know they are watching."

My blood went cold. "Who?"

"I do not know. But they left a message."

"What message?"

My mother turned. Handed me a note.

Typed. No signature.

Stop looking for me. Or I will kill her.

Her.

Me.

The traitor was threatening to kill me.

"Your mother is not the enemy," she had said. "Then who is?"

Now we knew. Someone who wanted me dead.

"When did you get this?" I asked.

"Thirty minutes ago. Slipped under my door."

"Did you tell Rex?"

"Not yet. I wanted to tell you first."

"Why?"

"Because you are my daughter. Because I have spent ten years protecting you from the shadows. Because I am not going to stop now."

"Protecting me? You sold me to Rex."

"I sold you to the only man who could keep you alive."

"That does not make it right."

"No. But it makes it necessary."

I looked at the note. The words blurred.

Stop looking for me. Or I will kill her.

"I am not going to stop looking," I said.

"I know."

"I am going to find whoever this is. And I am going to make them pay."

My mother nodded. "I know that too."

"Then help me."

"I am helping you. By being here. By telling you the truth. By standing with you."

"You stood with me in the shadows for ten years. Now stand with me in the light."

My mother smiled. It was a sad smile.

"I do not know how to stand in the light, Mira. I have been in the dark too long."

"Then learn."

She looked at me. Her green eyes met mine.

"Okay," she said. "Teach me."

I took her hand.

"First lesson. No more lies."

"No more lies."

"Second lesson. No more secrets."

"No more secrets."

"Third lesson. We fight together. Or we die alone."

My mother squeezed my hand.

"Together," she said.

Rex found us in the garden.

His phone was in his hand. His face was pale.

"Lin sent the gait analysis," he said. "She identified the traitor."

"Who?" I asked.

Rex looked at my mother. Then at me.

"It is someone you know. Someone you trust. Someone who has been here the whole time."

"Who?"

Rex held up his phone.

The screen showed a photograph.

Mrs. Park.

"No," I said. "It cannot be. She is a decoy. You said she was a decoy."

"She was supposed to be," Rex said. "But the gait analysis does not lie. The woman in the video walks exactly like Mrs. Park. Same height. Same weight. Same stride."

"There has to be a mistake."

"There is no mistake, Mira. Lin ran it three times."

I looked at my mother. Her face was white.

"Mrs. Park saved my daughter's life," she whispered. "She would never..."

"She did," Rex said. "The evidence is clear."

I turned. Walked toward the house.

"Where are you going?" my mother called.

"To talk to Mrs. Park."

"Mira, wait..."

I did not wait.

The kitchen was empty. Mrs. Park's room was at the end of the corridor.

The door was open.

The room was empty.

Her bed was made. Her crucifix was gone. The photograph of her daughter was gone.

She was gone.

I ran back to the garden.

"She is not there," I said. "She ran."

Rex was already on his phone. "I will find her."

My mother stood in the roses. Her face was hard.

"She was my friend," she said. "She was the only person I trusted."

"She was a traitor," I said. "And now she is gone."

My phone buzzed.

A text from an unknown number.

You should not have looked for me. Now she dies.

A photograph appeared.

Lin. Bound. Gagged. Eyes wide with fear.

My blood turned to ice.