Chapter 2: The Red Light Blinking
David stepped closer to the wall, his eyes fixed on the small white plastic casing of the security camera. The blinking green light felt like a mocking pulse in the tense silence of the nursery. Elena was still breathing heavily, her hands clawing nervously at the collar of her red silk blouse. Clara remained huddled on the floor, clutching Maya as if letting go would invite an even greater catastrophe.
"David, are you even listening to me? Get her out of this house right now," Elena hissed, stepping directly into her husband’s line of sight.
David’s jaw clenched so hard a muscle twitched near his cheekbone. He turned his heavy gaze back to his wife, completely ignoring the nanny for the moment.
"We need to look at the footage first, Elena," David said, his voice dropping into a dangerous, measured register.
"What is wrong with you? Our daughter is hurt!" Elena shouted, her voice echoing off the white walls.
Clara finally raised her tear-stained face, her lips trembling as she tried to speak.
"Please, Mr. Vance, it wasn't... it wasn't what it looks like on the surface. She slipped out of my arms, but someone was at the back door. Someone rattled the knob, and it startled me so badly," Clara sobbed, gasping for air between words.
David’s expression hardened further. He took a slow, deliberate step toward Clara, towering over her kneeling form.
"Nobody was at the back door, Clara. The perimeter alarm hasn't tripped all day," David said, his voice terrifyingly calm.
Elena crossed her arms, her eyes narrowing as she looked down at the nanny with pure disdain.
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"She's lying, David. She's just trying to save her own skin because she was probably on her phone again. I've told her a hundred times about being on that stupid device while holding our child," Elena accused, stepping forward to pry the crying baby out of Clara's grip.
As Elena pulled Maya away, the infant let out a fresh, piercing scream. In the struggle to comfort the child, Elena's elbow brushed against the bedside table, knocking over a small, leather-bound notebook that Clara had apparently dropped. The notebook fell open on the white rug, revealing a page filled with frantic, looping handwriting detailing dates, times, and observations about David and Elena's marriage that no nanny should have ever been keeping.
