CHAPTER 5 — The Security Camera That Shouldn't Exist
Amelia didn't tell anyone about the note.
Not even Richard.
Instead...
She quietly slipped away from the celebration.
The mansion hadn't changed much.
The long hallway.
The old library.
The grandfather clock.
Every corner awakened memories she thought had disappeared forever.
Then...
She heard footsteps behind her.
She turned.
Nobody.
Only silence.
She continued walking until she reached the basement corridor.
There...
She discovered an old steel door she had never seen before.
Locked.
But someone had recently opened it.
Fresh scratches marked the lock.
Inside...
Rows of filing cabinets.
Old VHS tapes.
Security hard drives.
Boxes labeled with years.
Then one box caught her attention.
County Fair — July 14
The exact day she disappeared.
Amelia's heartbeat quickened.
She inserted the tape into an old player.
Static filled the screen.
Then...
A grainy security recording appeared.
Five-year-old Amelia walking alone.
Then Eleanor running toward her.
Richard had never been there.
No kidnapper.
No stranger.
No river.
Everyone had been lied to.
Amelia watched as Eleanor picked her up...
Carried her calmly toward a waiting blue station wagon...
Then handed her to an unknown woman.
The timestamp continued.
The woman drove away.
Eleanor stood watching until the car disappeared.
Then...
She deliberately tore Amelia's little red shoe.
Threw it beside the river.
And walked away crying.
Amelia covered her mouth.
Her entire childhood...
Had been stolen on purpose.
Suddenly...
The television screen went black.
Someone had unplugged it.
A voice echoed behind her.
"You weren't supposed to see that."
Amelia slowly turned around.
May you like
Michael stood in the doorway.
Holding the power cable.
