Chapter 2 - Erased Footprints
The cold silence in the foyer thickened until it felt hard to breathe. Arthur stared down at his phone, his thumb tapping the screen repeatedly, but the playback interface remained stubbornly black with the word Error blinking in crimson text.
""The system went offline,"" Arthur murmured, his voice flat and inscrutable. ""Only forty seconds missing. Right when Julian fell.""
""What a tragic coincidence,"" Eleanor said smoothly, her composure returning like an iron mask sliding back into place. She stepped past Sarah, not sparing the maid a glance, and knelt down to peel Julian from Sarah’s embrace. ""Come here, my sweet boy. Let Mama see your bruises.""
Julian flinched, shrinking back into Sarah’s uniform, his small fingers clutched so tightly into the black fabric that his knuckles turned white. ""No! Don't let her touch me!"" the child cried out, his voice shrill with terror.
Arthur frowned, stepping closer. ""Julian, why are you acting like this? Eleanor has been nothing but kind to you.""
""Children get confused after a shock, darling,"" Eleanor purred, though her grip on the boy’s wrist tightened imperceptibly until Sarah heard the boy whimper in pain. ""He hit his head. Who knows what strange ideas he's got in that sweet little mind? Sarah, let go of him.""
Sarah met Eleanor’s venomous gaze. She knew she was risking everything—her job, her housing, her clean record. But the sheer dread radiating from the six-year-old was unmistakable.
""Sir, Master Julian has a severe contusion on his shoulder, and his pulse is racing,"" Sarah said, addressing Arthur directly without loosening her hold on the child. ""He needs to be examined by Dr. Henderson immediately. And whoever disabled that feed did it from inside this house. The router is in your private study.""
Eleanor’s smile vanished completely. ""Arthur, are you really allowing a maid to interrogate us in our own home? Pack your bags, Sarah. You're terminated. Pack and leave within the hour, or I'll have the sheriff drag you out in handcuffs for child endangerment.""
Sarah looked up at Arthur, waiting for the master of the house to intervene. Arthur was a man known in business for his ruthless logic, yet in the presence of his glamorous second wife, he seemed clouded, paralyzed by guilt over his late first wife.
""Sarah,"" Arthur said quietly, avoiding her eyes. ""Take the rest of the day in your quarters. Eleanor... step into the study with me.""
Eleanor gave Sarah a parting look of pure venom before turning on her heels, the sequins of her gown rustling with venomous elegance. Arthur followed her down the corridor, leaving Sarah alone with the whimpering child.
May you like
Sarah lifted Julian into her arms, whispering quiet assurances into his ear. As she turned toward the grand staircase to take him to the nursery, something metallic caught the light at the foot of the balustrade.
Sarah stooped down and picked it up. It was a high-end encrypted flash drive, still warm to the touch, engraved with Eleanor’s initials.
