Chapter 2 - THE MAN BEHIND THE SCREEN
The house fell silent.
Not peaceful silence.
The kind that comes before something breaks.
Arthur stood in the foyer while the security team checked every entrance.
Clara remained beside the staircase.
Maria held the tablet.
Mark stood near the wall, staring at his phone.
Arthur noticed.
“Still trying to figure out who accessed the system?”
Mark looked up.
“I told you. I don't know.”
Arthur nodded.
“Then you won't mind handing over your phone.”
Mark tightened his grip.
“No.”
Arthur didn't move.
“You have something to hide.”
“Everyone has privacy.”
Arthur smiled.
“Not when you're standing in a house surrounded by evidence.”
Mark's phone vibrated.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
He looked down.
A message appeared.
DELETE THE BACKUP. NOW.
His face changed.
Clara saw it.
“What was that?”
“Nothing.”
She walked closer.
“Let me see.”
Mark immediately locked the screen.
Arthur noticed.
“Maria.”
“Yes?”
“Take a photograph of his phone.”
Mark snapped.
“No.”
Two security officers stepped forward.
Mark stopped.
Arthur's voice remained calm.
“Nobody is taking your phone.”
Mark exhaled.
“Good.”
“But you are going to leave it untouched.”
Arthur looked at Clara.
“This isn't about revenge.”
She nodded slowly.
“I know.”
“It is about preserving evidence.”
Mark laughed.
“You're acting like this is a criminal investigation.”
Arthur looked at him.
“Maybe it is.”
Mark's expression hardened.
“You can't intimidate me.”
Arthur leaned closer.
“I don't need to.”
He pointed at the tablet.
“You already recorded yourself.”
Mark looked toward Maria.
“Who else has access to those cameras?”
Maria answered carefully.
“The primary system administrator.”
“Who?”
She hesitated.
Then:
“Your brother.”
Mark's head snapped around.
“Ethan?”
Clara looked confused.
“My brother-in-law?”
Maria nodded.
“He helped install the system last year.”
Mark went pale.
Arthur noticed.
“Why does that bother you?”
“It doesn't.”
“You look bothered.”
“I said it doesn't.”
Then another message appeared.
Mark's phone vibrated again.
This time Clara saw it.
SHE'S WITH ARTHUR. YOU FAILED.
Clara stared.
Mark immediately put the phone in his pocket.
“Who is that?”
“No one.”
“Mark.”
He wouldn't answer.
Arthur extended his hand.
“Now I want the phone.”
Mark refused.
Arthur nodded to security.
“Don't touch him.”
The men stopped.
Arthur turned toward Maria.
“Can the system recover deleted messages?”
“Possibly.”
“Then preserve everything.”
Maria nodded.
Mark suddenly shouted.
“You're destroying my life!”
Clara flinched.
Arthur didn't.
“No.”
He looked at him.
“You did that yourself.”
Mark's breathing became heavy.
“You don't know what she did.”
Clara stared at him.
“What I did?”
Mark looked at her.
“You lied to me.”
Her face went pale.
“About what?”
He said nothing.
Arthur stepped forward.
“Finish that sentence.”
Mark looked trapped.
“You'll find out.”
Arthur's eyes narrowed.
“That's not an answer.”
Mark laughed.
“Maybe your precious daughter isn't as innocent as you think.”
Clara's hands tightened around her belly.
“Stop.”
Mark looked at her.
“You want the truth?”
“Yes.”
“Then ask your father where the house came from.”
Arthur's face changed.
Only slightly.
But Clara noticed.
She turned toward him.
“Dad?”
Arthur didn't answer.
“Where did this house come from?”
He looked at her.
“Clara…”
“Please.”
Arthur sighed.
“This isn't the time.”
“That means there is something.”
Mark smiled.
“There always was.”
Arthur's eyes became cold.
“Enough.”
But Clara stepped between them.
“No.”
She looked at her father.
“I deserve to know.”
Arthur was silent for several seconds.
Then he said:
“This house was never supposed to belong to Mark.”
Clara stared at him.
“What does that mean?”
“It was purchased through a family trust.”
“Whose trust?”
Arthur looked at her.
“Your mother's.”
Clara stopped breathing.
“My mother?”
Arthur nodded.
“After she died, the trust remained active.”
Mark suddenly spoke.
“That trust doesn't exist anymore.”
Arthur turned.
“You've been reading documents you don't understand.”
“I had a lawyer.”
“Your lawyer lied to you.”
Mark's face hardened.
“No.”
Arthur looked at Clara.
“Your mother left instructions.”
“What instructions?”
Arthur reached into his jacket.
He pulled out a sealed envelope.
Clara stared at it.
Her mother's handwriting was written across the front.
For Clara. Open only when she believes she has lost everything.
Clara's eyes filled with tears.
Mark stared at the envelope.
Arthur held it out.
“Your mother anticipated something like this.”
Clara took it.
Her fingers shook.
She opened it.
Inside was a letter.
Only three lines were visible.
She read them.
Then froze.
“What?”
Arthur looked at her.
“What does it say?”
Clara couldn't speak.
Mark stepped forward.
“Give me that.”
Arthur immediately blocked him.
Clara looked up.
Her face had changed.
“What did Mom know about you, Mark?”
Mark went completely still.
May you like
And somewhere upstairs—
a door slowly closed.
