Chapter 2 - Noah Points Beneath the Stairs
Ryan did not raise his voice again.
That frightened Vanessa more than shouting would have.
He stepped between her and Claire, took the decorative vase from her
hands, and placed it on the console table.
Then he looked at Noah.
The little boy was still pressed against Claire’s chest, his cheeks wet.
Ryan crouched several feet away so he would not crowd him.
“Buddy, can you show Daddy what happened?”
Noah pointed at Vanessa.
“She pushed me.”
Vanessa shook her head.
“He was climbing where he shouldn’t.”
“He’s two,” Claire snapped.
Noah’s finger moved.
Not toward Vanessa this time.
Toward the narrow hallway beneath the staircase.
“Light.”
Claire frowned.
“What light?”
Noah pointed again.
“Blink light.”
Vanessa went completely still.
Ryan noticed.
He followed Noah’s finger to a carved wooden panel beneath the stairs.
The panel looked decorative.
Ryan had lived in the house for eleven years.
He had never seen it open.
Claire carried Noah closer.
A tiny green light blinked through a gap near the baseboard.
Ryan reached toward the panel.
Vanessa stepped forward.
“Don’t.”
He looked at her.
“Why?”
“It’s electrical.”
Ryan’s expression changed.
“You just tried to pick up a twenty-pound vase while my son was crying
on the floor, and now you’re worried about electrical safety?”
Vanessa had no answer.
Ryan pulled the panel.
It did not move.
Then Noah whispered:
“Key.”
Claire looked at him.
“What key, sweetheart?”
Noah pointed at Vanessa’s cardigan pocket.
Vanessa instinctively covered it with her hand.
That was enough.
Ryan did not touch her.
He simply said:
“Put whatever is in your pocket on the table.”
Vanessa refused.
Claire called the police.
While they waited, Ryan took Noah upstairs to be checked by a
pediatrician on call. Claire stayed with him.
Officers arrived and documented the scene.
Vanessa eventually handed over a small brass key through her attorney.
The hidden panel opened.
Behind it was a narrow service compartment.
Inside were wires, a router, and a digital recorder connected to several
tiny cameras.
One camera feed showed the nursery.
Another showed Claire and Ryan’s bedroom.
A third showed the upstairs hallway.
Claire stopped breathing.
Then the monitor switched automatically.
The next image was live.
May you like
It showed them standing beneath the staircase.
Someone had been watching the family from inside their own home.
