CHAPTER 2: THE RED LIGHT ABOVE THE DOOR
CHAPTER 2: THE RED LIGHT ABOVE THE DOOR
For a fraction of a second, no one moved.
Not Preston.
Not my parents.
Not even the guests who had spent the last ten minutes watching my daughter bleed like it was part of the entertainment.
Preston’s eyes flicked upward.
Slowly.
Like his brain was trying to reject what I had just said.
“The CCTV?” he repeated, almost amused. “Evelyn, you think a hotel recording is going to save you right now?”
But his voice wasn’t steady.
I saw it.
Just a crack.
Just a hesitation.
That tiny red light above the ballroom doors kept blinking.
Calm.
Unblinking.
Witnessing everything.
Sophie let out a small whimper in my arms. Her grip on my sleeve tightened.
I pressed my hand harder against her wound.
Stay awake. Stay with me.
“Mommy…” she whispered again.
I looked at her.
And then I looked at them.
All of them.
“I don’t need anyone to believe me,” I said quietly. “I just need the footage to speak.”
My mother gave a sharp, disbelieving laugh.
“Evelyn, don’t be ridiculous. You’re threatening us with hotel cameras at a wedding?”
But even she didn’t sound confident anymore.
Because Preston wasn’t smiling now.
May you like
He was watching the camera.
Calculating.
