Chapter 3: The Missing Video
Chapter 3: The Missing Video
Detective James Morrison left my hospital room without another word.
The door closed behind him.
For the first time since the fall, I allowed myself to cry.
Not because of the pain.
Not because I couldn't feel my legs.
But because Tyler had crossed a line I never believed he would.
He hadn't just wanted the inheritance.
He had wanted me gone.
Sarah Chen quietly handed me a tissue.
"You don't have to be strong every second," she said.
"I've spent my whole life protecting my family."
"And where did that get you?"
I looked down at the blanket covering my motionless legs.
"Here."
Sarah didn't have an answer for that.
Meanwhile, Detective Morrison drove straight back to the Walker estate.
Crime scene investigators were still photographing the shattered railing.
Yellow evidence markers covered the deck.
Officer Daniel Ruiz approached with a tablet.
"We recovered fingerprints exactly where Bridget said Tyler shoved her."
"Any blood?"
"A few drops on the broken wood."
"DNA?"
"Lab is rushing the results."
Morrison nodded.
"What about security cameras?"
Ruiz hesitated.
"That's the strange part."
"What do you mean?"
"The house has twelve exterior cameras."
"So?"
"Only one covered the back deck."
"And?"
"It stopped recording at 8:14 p.m."
Morrison frowned.
"What time did Bridget fall?"
"Approximately 8:37."
"So the camera failed twenty-three minutes before the incident."
Ruiz looked uneasy.
"It wasn't a power outage."
"How do you know?"
"The rest of the cameras never stopped recording."
Morrison stared at the monitor.
"Someone disabled only the deck camera."
Across town, Tyler sat alone inside his downtown apartment.
The expensive whiskey in his hand trembled slightly.
His phone rang.
He looked at the screen.
Lauren.
He ignored it.
Seconds later, she called again.
Then again.
Finally, he answered.
"What?"
"You lied."
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"I saw you."
His face froze.
"You pushed Bridget."
Silence.
"I know what I saw."
Tyler slowly stood.
"You should be careful, Lauren."
"What does that mean?"
"It means memories can be unreliable."
"They're not."
"You were drinking."
"I had one glass of wine."
"You were emotional."
"I wasn't."
"You were inside."
"I walked outside."
Tyler's voice became dangerously calm.
"No."
"You didn't."
Lauren's breathing grew heavier.
"I'm telling the police."
Tyler closed his eyes.
"If you do..."
Another long silence.
"...you'll destroy this family."
Lauren laughed bitterly.
"You already did."
She hung up.
Tyler stared at the dark phone screen.
For the first time all night...
He looked afraid.
The next morning, I woke to the sound of nurses changing shifts.
My back still ached, but the medication dulled the worst of it.
Dr. Emily Carter entered with another physician.
"Good morning, Bridget."
"Do you have news?"
She pulled a chair beside my bed.
"The swelling around your spinal cord is significant."
I searched her face.
"But?"
"We're hopeful."
Hopeful.
Not confident.
Not optimistic.
Just hopeful.
"We'll know much more in forty-eight to seventy-two hours."
I nodded quietly.
Then another question slipped out.
"Will I ever walk again?"
Dr. Carter didn't answer immediately.
"I've learned never to predict the future."
She smiled gently.
"The human body sometimes surprises us."
It wasn't the answer I wanted.
But it wasn't the worst answer either.
A knock interrupted the conversation.
Detective Morrison stepped inside.
"I have an update."
Dr. Carter excused herself.
Once we were alone, he sat beside my bed.
"We found something."
"The fingerprints?"
He nodded.
"They're a problem for your brother."
I took a slow breath.
"But?"
"But fingerprints alone don't prove he pushed you."
"So what does?"
"A witness."
My heart skipped.
"Lauren?"
He didn't answer directly.
"She's scared."
"I know."
"Very scared."
I looked toward the window.
"Tyler has always been good at making people afraid."
Morrison studied me carefully.
"There's something else."
"What?"
"We reviewed footage from every camera except the one facing the deck."
"And?"
"We saw someone walking toward the security control room at exactly 8:11 p.m."
My stomach tightened.
"Who?"
He slid a photograph across the bedside table.
The image showed a man wearing a dark baseball cap and black jacket.
His face was partially hidden.
"I don't recognize him."
"We didn't either."
"But he knew exactly where the security panel was."
"Could he work for my father?"
"Possibly."
The detective folded his arms.
"Or someone hired him."
Before I could respond, another officer rushed into the room without knocking.
"Detective."
"What is it?"
"We've got an emergency."
Morrison stood immediately.
"The forensic lab finished analyzing the surveillance server."
"And?"
"They discovered the missing video wasn't deleted."
"It was copied."
My pulse quickened.
"Copied where?"
The officer swallowed.
"To a flash drive."
Morrison's eyes narrowed.
"Can you trace it?"
"Yes."
"Who took it?"
The officer looked down at his report.
"The system logged the name of the employee who accessed it."
Silence filled the room.
Finally, he spoke.
"It wasn't Tyler."
May you like
"It was Marcus."
To be continued...
