Chapter 6 - The Missing Recorder
The police issued an alert for Victoria before midnight.
Her car remained at Marcus’s estate.
The service road suggested another vehicle had been waiting.
That meant Victoria had planned an escape route.
Marcus stood in his study while officers photographed the security room and searched the guest suite Victoria often used.
Elena had refused Marcus’s offer to have the family physician examine her.
Instead, Rosa drove her to an urgent care clinic.
Marcus understood.
She wanted distance from him.
He deserved that.
Detective Aaron Cole arrived shortly after eleven.
He was in his early forties, calm and methodical.
He watched the pool recording twice.
Then he asked Marcus a question.
“Why would Ms. Crane want to harm your child?”
Marcus stared at the paused video.
“I don’t know.”
“You’ve known her six years?”
“Yes.”
“Romantic relationship?”
“No.”
Cole studied him.
“Never?”
Marcus hesitated.
“We were becoming closer.”
“How close?”
Marcus looked uncomfortable.
“I was considering proposing eventually.”
The detective leaned back.
“That matters.”
Marcus frowned.
“Why?”
“Your wife is deceased?”
“Three years.”
“And your son?”
“Nine months old.”
Cole looked up.
Marcus realized how it sounded.
“My son was born through a surrogate.”
“Using your late wife’s frozen embryos?”
Marcus stiffened.
“How do you know that?”
“Public profile.”
Marcus was a successful real estate developer.
His decision to become a father using embryos he and Natalie had preserved before her illness had attracted media attention.
Victoria had supported him publicly.
She had called the baby “Natalie’s final gift.”
Detective Cole asked another question.
“Who inherits your estate?”
Marcus stared at him.
“My son.”
“And if your son died?”
Marcus felt cold.
“My trust would be divided between several charities.”
“Anyone personally benefit?”
“No.”
“Victoria?”
“No.”
Cole nodded.
“Then money may not be the motive.”
Marcus looked toward the window.
Outside, officers searched the grounds with flashlights.
“What else would it be?”
Cole did not answer.
He turned toward the items recovered from Victoria’s suite.
Receipts.
A laptop.
Prescription bottles.
A leather notebook.
The laptop required a password.
The notebook was mostly empty.
Then one officer entered carrying a small plastic evidence bag.
“We found this behind the dresser.”
Inside was a tiny black object.
Marcus recognized it.
“A memory card?”
The officer nodded.
Cole examined it.
Marcus’s pulse increased.
“Could that be from the recorder?”
“Maybe.”
The detective handed it to the digital forensics officer.
“Check it.”
Twenty minutes later, the officer returned.
“It contains video files.”
Marcus stood.
“How many?”
“Forty-six.”
Cole exchanged a glance with him.
“From the pool camera?”
“Not all.”
Marcus frowned.
“What do you mean?”
“There are nursery recordings.”
Marcus’s heart stopped.
“The nursery doesn’t have a camera.”
The forensic officer looked at him.
“Apparently it did.”
He opened one file.
The screen showed the baby’s nursery.
The angle was high.
Hidden.
Marcus stepped closer.
Victoria entered the room.
The timestamp read 2:13 a.m.
She approached the crib.
The baby was sleeping.
Victoria stood over him.
For almost a minute, she did nothing.
Then she whispered something.
The recording had sound.
Marcus leaned closer.
Victoria’s voice came through the speakers.
May you like
“One day, you’ll call me Mom.”
Marcus felt every hair on his arms rise.
