Chapter 4 - Evan’s Tablet Wasn’t Missing
Evan had said Lily promised to return his tablet.
But the device had never been taken from him.
Grace found it beneath the sofa in the upstairs playroom.
Evan looked confused.
“That’s not where I left it.”
Daniel opened the messages.
The account displayed Lily’s name and photograph.
The messages read:
Want your tablet back?
Go to the west balcony.
Look behind the loose glass.
Find the silver piece.
Don’t tell Dad. It’s a surprise.
Daniel looked at Lily.
“Is this your account?”
“No.”
The username differed from Lily’s real account by one character.
Someone had copied her profile picture.
The account had been created that morning.
Then Grace noticed something.
The final message had arrived at 2:14 p.m.
At 2:14, Lily had been in the kitchen with Grace.
Grace remembered because they were discussing dinner.
Lily could still have scheduled or sent the message from another device.
But now there was reasonable doubt.
Daniel felt sick.
He had watched one camera angle and believed he understood everything.
He had almost been wrong.
Then the security technician called.
May you like
There was another camera covering the balcony hallway.
Its footage had been deleted.
