Chapter 4 — The Camera Behind the Wall
Chapter 4 — The Camera Behind the Wall
At 2:17 in the morning, the camera behind the wall turned on.
Nobody knew it was there.
Not Marcus.
Not Victor.
Not the hospital administrator.
Not even the security team that had spent the entire evening examining the suite.
But the tiny lens had been recording since before Isabella Rossi entered the room.
And it had captured something the main security system had missed.
Something that would change the entire case.
Elaine Parker stood in the security room with her phone pressed against her ear.
“Does Marcus know?”
“No.”
“Does Khloe?”
“No.”
“Good.”
The voice on the other end remained calm.
“Then keep it that way.”
Elaine swallowed.
“What about the camera?”
A pause.
“What camera?”
Elaine looked toward the wall.
The hidden camera had been installed behind a decorative panel six months earlier.
“It activated tonight.”
Silence.
Then:
“Destroy it.”
“I can't.”
“Why?”
“Because someone is already accessing the feed.”
Elaine's blood ran cold.
“Who?”
“I don't know.”
The line went dead.
Elaine stared at the wall.
Then the monitor beside her flickered.
A new window appeared.
REMOTE CONNECTION ESTABLISHED.
Someone was watching.
Across the hospital, Marcus was sitting beside Khloe.
She had finally fallen asleep.
Her face looked peaceful for the first time since the attack.
Marcus hadn't moved for nearly an hour.
Victor stood near the window.
“Elaine knew Adrian was alive.”
Marcus looked up.
“You're sure?”
“Khloe said she was the only person who knew about the letter.”
Marcus's jaw tightened.
“Then we bring her in.”
Victor nodded.
“I already sent someone.”
“How long?”
“Five minutes.”
Marcus looked at Khloe.
“Too long.”
Victor studied him.
“You're thinking about going yourself.”
“Yes.”
“No.”
Marcus looked at him.
“You can't keep stopping me.”
“I can when you're about to make another mistake.”
Marcus stood.
“I've spent six years believing Adrian abandoned me.”
“And now?”
“Now I know someone made me believe it.”
Victor stepped closer.
“That's exactly why you need to stay calm.”
Marcus's voice dropped.
“Someone attacked my wife.”
“I know.”
“Someone tried to erase evidence.”
“I know.”
“Someone stole millions from my company.”
“I know.”
“And now we know Adrian may still be alive.”
Victor nodded.
Marcus stared at him.
“Tell me how I'm supposed to sit here.”
Victor answered quietly.
“Because if you leave this room, they may get exactly what they want.”
Marcus stopped.
“What?”
“You.”
At 2:31 a.m., the hospital's security elevator opened.
Elaine stepped out.
Two security officers followed her.
She looked frightened.
“Where is Marcus?”
Victor walked toward her.
“He's upstairs.”
Elaine looked past him.
“Is Khloe awake?”
“Why?”
“I need to speak to her.”
“No.”
Elaine blinked.
“No?”
“Not tonight.”
“But—”
Victor cut her off.
“Tell me about Adrian.”
Elaine's face drained of color.
“I don't know anything.”
“That's interesting.”
“What?”
“Khloe says you're the only person who knew she received a letter.”
Elaine looked toward the elevator.
“I need to leave.”
The officers blocked the doors.
Victor's expression hardened.
“You're not going anywhere.”
Inside the security room, the hidden camera continued recording.
A red light appeared.
Then disappeared.
Someone had switched it into silent mode.
The image showed Elaine being escorted down the corridor.
Then Marcus appeared.
He had followed Victor despite being told to stay upstairs.
Elaine looked at him.
“Mr. Thorne.”
Marcus stared at her.
“Did Adrian send the letter?”
Elaine said nothing.
“Answer me.”
“I don't know.”
“Did you see him?”
Silence.
Marcus stepped closer.
“Six years ago?”
Elaine's eyes filled with tears.
Then:
“Yes.”
Marcus froze.
Victor closed the security room door.
“Where?”
Elaine whispered:
“Here.”
The word seemed impossible.
“Here?”
Elaine nodded.
“Adrian was brought to this hospital.”
Marcus stared.
“When?”
“Six years ago.”
“Why?”
“He had been injured.”
“How?”
Elaine shook her head.
“I don't know.”
“Who brought him?”
“I can't tell you.”
Marcus's anger rose.
“You can.”
“No.”
“Elaine.”
She looked at him.
“If I tell you, people die.”
Victor stepped forward.
“People are already dying.”
Elaine closed her eyes.
“I was told Adrian had to disappear.”
“By whom?”
“I never saw his face.”
Marcus stared at her.
“You expect me to believe that?”
“No.”
She opened her eyes.
“I expect you to understand that I was afraid.”
Behind the wall, the camera captured everything.
Including the moment Elaine looked directly toward the decorative panel.
She knew.
She knew there was a camera.
Marcus didn't.
Victor didn't.
But Elaine did.
She stared at the panel for half a second.
Then looked away.
That was enough.
The hidden camera's remote operator zoomed in.
The image became clearer.
A man watching from somewhere else whispered:
“She knows.”
At 2:46 a.m., the hospital lights flickered.
Victor immediately looked toward the ceiling.
“What was that?”
The security officer checked the system.
“Power fluctuation.”
Marcus frowned.
“Hospital backup?”
“Automatic.”
Then every monitor in the room went black.
Elaine screamed.
The lights returned three seconds later.
The security system rebooted.
Victor turned toward the main monitor.
“Where's the footage?”
The officer stared.
“Which footage?”
“Tonight.”
The officer's face changed.
“It's gone.”
Marcus stepped forward.
“What do you mean gone?”
“The server is empty.”
Victor's eyes narrowed.
“Impossible.”
“Backup?”
“Checking.”
The officer typed.
Then stopped.
“Backup has been corrupted.”
Marcus's expression became cold.
“Everything?”
“Everything from 8:00 p.m. onward.”
Victor looked at Elaine.
She looked terrified.
“That's what I was afraid of.”
Marcus turned.
“You knew.”
“No.”
“You knew this would happen.”
“I suspected.”
“Who did it?”
“I don't know.”
Marcus stepped closer.
Elaine backed away.
Then the hidden camera behind the wall continued recording.
It had never lost power.
It had never connected to the hospital server.
And someone else was watching.
At 3:02 a.m., the remote operator made a decision.
He opened a private encrypted channel.
A single file appeared.
CAMERA_07 — COPY
He downloaded it.
The video showed everything.
Isabella's attack.
Marcus entering.
Elaine's confession.
Victor's questions.
All of it.
Then another file appeared.
CAMERA_07 — SECOND ANGLE
The operator opened it.
His face changed.
Because the second camera had captured something outside the suite.
A man entering the hospital twenty minutes before Isabella.
A man wearing a black medical uniform.
Carrying a small case.
The man stopped outside Khloe's suite.
Looked directly into the security camera.
Then entered.
Five minutes later, he left.
The operator zoomed in.
A face appeared.
He recognized him.
“No.”
He whispered.
Then immediately called his contact.
“It's not Isabella.”
“What?”
“The man in the hospital.”
“Who?”
“Dante Russo.”
Dante Russo stood inside an underground parking garage.
His phone rang.
He answered.
“What?”
A voice spoke quickly.
“Your face is on camera.”
Dante went still.
“Which camera?”
“The hidden one.”
His expression changed.
“Destroy it.”
“I can't.”
“Then find whoever has the copy.”
“I don't know who it is.”
Dante looked toward the exit.
“Find out.”
“What if Marcus sees it?”
Dante smiled.
“Then Marcus will learn that Isabella wasn't acting alone.”
“And then?”
Dante's smile disappeared.
“Then we lose control.”
At 3:20 a.m., Khloe woke.
Marcus was sitting beside her.
She looked at him.
“You look angry.”
“I am.”
“Why?”
“Elaine lied.”
Khloe's eyes sharpened.
“About Adrian?”
“Yes.”
“What did she say?”
“She saw him six years ago.”
Khloe breathed slowly.
“Then he's alive.”
“Maybe.”
“No.”
Her voice was firmer.
“If she saw him, someone kept him alive.”
Marcus nodded.
“That's what I think.”
Khloe looked toward the door.
“Marcus.”
“Yes?”
“Did Elaine say where?”
“Here.”
Khloe's face changed.
“Here?”
“This hospital.”
She stared at the ceiling.
Then whispered:
“That's why.”
“What?”
“The attack.”
Marcus frowned.
“Why would Isabella attack me here?”
Khloe's eyes filled with fear.
“Because this isn't where they wanted me to die.”
Marcus went still.
“What are you saying?”
“They wanted me here.”
“Why?”
“I don't know.”
She looked at him.
“But someone needed me inside this hospital.”
At 3:41 a.m., a nurse entered.
“Mrs. Thorne?”
Khloe looked up.
“Yes?”
“We need to move you to another room.”
Marcus stood immediately.
“Why?”
“Security protocol.”
“Who ordered it?”
The nurse hesitated.
“Hospital administration.”
Victor entered behind her.
“No.”
Everyone turned.
Victor looked at the nurse.
“Who specifically ordered the transfer?”
“I don't know.”
“Then she doesn't move.”
The nurse stepped backward.
“Sir—”
“No.”
Victor's voice hardened.
“Leave.”
The nurse hesitated.
Then left.
Marcus looked at Victor.
“Someone is trying to move her.”
Victor nodded.
“And we don't know why.”
Khloe stared at the door.
“Don't let anyone in.”
Five minutes later, the hospital security team reported an intruder.
A man had entered the restricted maternity corridor.
He wore medical clothing.
He carried a case.
He had no identification.
Marcus's blood ran cold.
“Dante.”
Victor nodded.
“Probably.”
Security chased him.
He disappeared into the stairwell.
By the time they reached the lower floor, he was gone.
But he had left something behind.
A small black case.
Victor opened it.
Inside was a syringe.
A vial.
And a photograph.
Khloe.
Taken earlier that evening.
Sleeping in her hospital bed.
Marcus stared.
Someone had been watching her.
Victor looked at the vial.
“Get this to the lab.”
Marcus's face hardened.
“They were going to kill her.”
“No.”
Victor looked at the photograph.
“They were going to make it look natural.”
At 4:15 a.m., Detective Ruiz returned.
She looked at the vial.
Then at Marcus.
“This changes everything.”
“How?”
“If that compound matches what was used in your old poisoning case…”
Marcus stared at her.
“You think the same person who poisoned me tried to poison Khloe?”
Ruiz nodded.
“And that means the attack wasn't emotional.”
Khloe whispered:
“It was cleanup.”
Everyone looked at her.
She continued:
“Isabella wasn't trying to win Marcus.”
“She was trying to stop me from finding something.”
Marcus took her hand.
“What?”
Khloe shook her head.
“I don't know yet.”
At sunrise, the hidden camera finally stopped recording.
The remote operator closed the feed.
Before disconnecting, he opened one final file.
A photograph.
A man standing in a remote rehabilitation facility.
Older.
Thinner.
Alive.
Adrian Vale.
The operator stared at the image.
Then typed one message.
They're getting close.
The reply came seconds later.
Then bring Adrian home.
The operator hesitated.
Then:
And if he refuses?
The answer was immediate.
Remind him what happened to his sister.
The operator closed his eyes.
Because that secret had been buried for six years.
And if Adrian came back, it would not only destroy Isabella Rossi.
It would expose the person who had been controlling all of them.
At 6:30 a.m., Marcus returned to Khloe's room.
She was awake.
He sat beside her.
“I found something.”
“What?”
“The man who entered your room.”
“Dante?”
“Yes.”
Khloe closed her eyes.
“Then we're running out of time.”
Marcus took her hand.
“No.”
She looked at him.
“We're just starting.”
He leaned closer.
“Why?”
Khloe looked toward the wall.
“Because if there was a camera behind that wall…”
Marcus followed her gaze.
“…someone wanted to see everything.”
He stood.
Victor entered.
Marcus looked at him.
“Search every wall.”
Victor frowned.
“Why?”
“Because if there's one camera…”
Marcus's eyes hardened.
“There may be more.”
And behind the decorative panel, hidden beneath layers of hospital paint and years of silence, a second red light flickered.
May you like
Someone was still watching.
And this time, the camera was pointed directly at Khloe's bed.
