Chapter 4: The Name on the Screen
“You already know who.””
The words hung in the living room.
Gloria didn't blink.
Ethan looked from Sophia to his mother.
“Mom?””
Gloria slowly lowered the photograph in her hand.
“I know who had access to your signature.””
Sophia's face tightened.
“That isn't the same thing.””
Ethan stepped closer.
“Then say the name.””
Gloria looked at him.
“I won't accuse someone without proof.””
Sophia gave a bitter laugh.
“Convenient.””
Ethan turned sharply.
“You said my mother already knows.””
“I said what I said.””
“Then explain it.””
Sophia shook her head.
“I can't.””
“You can.””
“I won't.””
Ethan's jaw clenched.
“After everything that just happened, you're still protecting someone?””
Sophia looked toward the security monitor.
“No. I'm protecting myself.””
Gloria walked back to the monitor.
“There is one more angle.””
Sophia's eyes widened.
“Gloria.””
That was the first time she had used Gloria's name without pretending warmth.
Gloria pressed another button.
The screen divided into four views of the same living room.
Ethan stared.
“You've had this system recording all four cameras?””
“For years.””
Sophia whispered, “Why?””
“Because this is my home.””
The top-right feed showed the coffee table from another angle.
Gloria rewound the footage.
The timestamp appeared.
The same afternoon.
Sophia entered the room carrying a thin folder.
She looked over her shoulder.
Then she placed the folder beside the family photograph.
Ethan leaned toward the screen.
“Stop.””
Gloria paused it.
Sophia on the footage was staring at something outside the camera's view.
Ethan pointed.
“Who's there?””
“I don't know,” Gloria said.
“Go back.””
The footage moved backward.
Sophia entered.
She placed the folder down.
Then someone else's hand appeared briefly from the edge of the frame.
A dark sleeve.
A ring.
The hand slid a second envelope across the table.
Sophia immediately picked it up.
Ethan's eyes narrowed.
“Who is that?””
Gloria rewound again.
This time, she slowed the footage.
The person stepped farther into the frame.
Only the shoulder appeared.
Then the head turned slightly.
Ethan froze.
“That's Marcus.””
Sophia closed her eyes.
Gloria turned.
“Who is Marcus?””
“My brother-in-law,” Ethan said.
Sophia's eyes opened.
“Half-brother.””
Ethan stared at her.
“Why was my brother here?””
“He came to talk.””
“About what?””
“Nothing.””
“You were holding a document.””
“It wasn't important.””
Ethan laughed bitterly.
“You've used that word three times today.””
Sophia folded her arms.
“Marcus has always been jealous of you.””
Ethan frowned.
“Jealous of what?””
“Everything.””
“That doesn't explain my signature.””
Sophia looked toward Gloria.
“He has access to your old paperwork.””
Ethan went still.
“What paperwork?””
“The business documents. Tax forms. Insurance forms. Things you've signed.””
Gloria's expression changed.
“What business documents?””
Ethan looked at his mother.
“I never told you?””
“Told me what?””
Ethan rubbed his forehead.
“My father left me a small investment account when he died.””
Gloria stared at him.
“Your father left you more than that.””
Ethan looked confused.
“What?””
Sophia suddenly stepped between them.
“That's enough.””
Ethan turned.
“Why are you stopping this?””
“Because you're upset.””
“No. I'm finally listening.””
He moved around her.
“What did my father leave me?””
Gloria hesitated.
Then the monitor flickered.
The footage disappeared.
A red message appeared.
*CAMERA STORAGE ERROR.*
Ethan stared.
“What happened?””
Gloria pressed the controls.
Nothing.
Sophia's face went pale.
Ethan looked at her.
“You knew this would happen.””
“No.””
“You knew.””
“I didn't touch anything.””
Gloria checked the monitor again.
The earlier footage was still there.
But the recording from one camera had vanished.
The exact camera that had shown Marcus.
Gloria slowly turned toward Sophia.
Sophia's breathing quickened.
“I swear I didn't erase it.””
Ethan stepped toward her.
“Then who did?””
Sophia didn't answer.
A notification suddenly appeared on the screen.
*REMOTE ACCESS DETECTED.*
Gloria's fingers froze above the controls.
Ethan whispered,
May you like
“Someone is still inside the system.””
And then the living-room door unlocked by itself.
