Chapter 9 - THE HOUSE OF LIES
They returned home under police protection.
Every room felt different.
The nursery was no longer a place of peace.
It was evidence.
Ethan found hidden cameras behind the baby monitor.
The system had been recording everything.
Feeding.
Sleeping.
Arguments.
Private conversations.
Even Claire's medical appointments.
Someone had been watching them from the beginning.
Lena examined the footage.
“That's Victor's network.”
Daniel shook his head.
“No.”
Everyone looked at him.
“Victor isn't the one running it.”
“Who is?”
Daniel pointed at the screen.
A woman appeared in the hallway.
She wore a dark coat.
Her face was partially hidden.
Then she turned.
Ethan stopped breathing.
His mother.
Margaret.
But the footage was dated three months before Nora's birth.
Margaret entered the house carrying a folder.
She met Dr. Mercer.
Then another person entered.
Ethan's father.
Alive.
Ethan stared at the screen.
“That can't be him.”
Daniel said quietly, “It is.”
Ethan's knees nearly gave out.
“My father is alive?”
The footage ended.
Margaret began sobbing.
“I thought he was dead.”
Daniel shook his head.
“He disappeared after the lake incident.”
Ethan turned on her.
“You knew?”
“No.”
“You lied.”
“I believed he was dead.”
“Then why was he here?”
Margaret couldn't answer.
Claire suddenly pointed at the monitor.
“Wait.”
She rewound the footage.
A second camera showed the driveway.
Ethan's father left the house with Mercer.
But someone else was waiting in the car.
Victor Hale.
The pieces finally connected.
Victor had been manipulating everyone.
But Ethan's father had apparently survived.
Why?
Daniel opened the flash drive.
A file appeared.
PROJECT STAR — FINAL TRANSFER.
It contained a list of dates.
The final date was tomorrow.
Location: Cole residence.
Subject: Nora.
Status: permanent transfer.
Ethan's blood ran cold.
“They're coming tonight.”
Daniel nodded.
“Then we make sure they never take her.”
They turned the house into a trap.
Lights were shut off.
Doors reinforced.
Police hidden outside.
Claire stayed in the nursery with Nora.
At 1:03 a.m., the power went out.
At 1:06, the back door opened.
At 1:08, footsteps entered the hallway.
Then Margaret screamed.
A man's voice answered.
“Where is the baby?”
Ethan stepped from the darkness.
“Right here.”
Victor Hale emerged.
He was smiling.
“You finally understand.”
Ethan raised the recording device.
“Tell me who killed my father.”
Victor's smile disappeared.
Then another voice came from behind him.
“Victor.”
Everyone turned.
Ethan's father stepped into the light.
Alive.
Older.
Scarred.
But unmistakable.
Victor whispered, “You.”
Ethan's father looked at his son.
“I'm sorry, Ethan.”
Ethan's eyes filled with tears.
“Dad?”
“I should have come home.”
Victor reached for his weapon.
Police stormed the room.
He was arrested.
But before they took him away, Victor laughed.
“You think this is over?”
Ethan's father stared at him.
Victor looked toward Nora.
“The truth about that child will destroy all of you.”
Then he was gone.
Ethan held his baby tighter.
He thought the nightmare was ending.
May you like
He was wrong.
===
