Chapter 1 - THE FIRST LIE
The first caregiver stole prescription medication.
Gabriel found out at 3:41 in the morning.
He had been sitting alone in the control room, staring at twelve silent monitors, when one of them showed Mrs. Danner slipping two bottles of Eli’s medication into the pocket of her cardigan.
Gabriel watched her walk down the hallway.
He watched her pause.
Then she looked directly at the hidden camera.
She smiled.
That smile stayed with Gabriel.
Because she knew.
Not that there were cameras.
That she had been caught.
The next morning, she was gone.
The second caregiver lasted nine days.
The third lasted six.
The fourth lasted three.
Each time, Gabriel became more convinced that the world was full of people who saw his son as an opportunity.
Money.
Access.
A helpless child with a wealthy father.
So when Hannah Cole arrived, Gabriel had already decided she would fail.
He simply didn't know how.
At breakfast, Gabriel stood behind the doorway and watched her help Eli with his cereal.
She didn't feed him.
She didn't hover.
She didn't ask whether he wanted help every thirty seconds.
She simply placed the bowl within reach and said, “You've got this.”
Eli stared at her.
“You don't know me.”
“No.”
“You don't know what I can do.”
“No.”
“Then why do you think I've got this?”
Hannah shrugged.
“Because you haven't thrown the bowl at me yet.”
Eli looked at the bowl.
Then at Hannah.
A tiny smile appeared.
Gabriel felt something inside him tighten.
It was not happiness.
Happiness was dangerous.
Happiness made people careless.
Instead, he felt suspicion.
He walked into the room.
The smile disappeared from Eli's face.
“Dad.”
Gabriel nodded.
“Hannah.”
“Mr. Marlowe.”
“You're late.”
Hannah glanced at the clock.
“I'm three minutes early.”
Gabriel looked at his watch.
She was right.
He hated that.
“I expect punctuality.”
“I've noticed.”
Eli looked between them.
For the first time in months, there was something almost normal in the room.
Then Gabriel ruined it.
“After breakfast, Eli has physical therapy.”
“I know.”
“You're not permitted to alter his schedule.”
“I won't.”
“And you don't make decisions concerning his treatment.”
“I won't.”
“You don't take him outside without security.”
“I won't.”
“You don't give him anything without clearing it with me.”
Hannah looked at Eli.
Then back at Gabriel.
“Does that include water?”
Gabriel's jaw tightened.
Eli laughed.
Actually laughed.
Gabriel turned toward him.
The sound vanished immediately.
Hannah noticed.
Her eyes narrowed.
“Mr. Marlowe.”
“What?”
“You scare him.”
The room went silent.
Gabriel stared at her.
Nobody talked to him like that.
Not lawyers.
Not employees.
Certainly not a housekeeper.
“You've been here four days.”
“Five.”
“You've known my son for five days.”
“Yes.”
“And you think you understand him?”
“No.”
“Then don't make assumptions.”
Hannah held his gaze.
“I don't need five years to recognize fear.”
Gabriel stepped closer.
“Be careful.”
“I am.”
“No. You're not.”
He lowered his voice.
“You're becoming too comfortable.”
Hannah didn't move.
“Maybe someone needs to.”
Gabriel left.
He didn't see the way Hannah watched him disappear.
He didn't see Eli's face.
He didn't see the boy's fingers curl around the edge of the table.
But the camera did.
That night, Gabriel replayed the footage.
Not because he was looking for Hannah stealing something.
Because he wanted to understand why his son had laughed.
He watched her help Eli brush his teeth.
He watched her read him a book.
He watched her sit on the floor while Eli explained every detail of the wooden sailboat.
At 11:52 p.m., Hannah turned off the light.
At 11:57, she returned.
She knelt beside Eli's bed.
Gabriel leaned closer.
Hannah whispered something.
Eli nodded.
Then she kissed his forehead.
She stood.
And before leaving, she said something Gabriel couldn't hear.
He increased the audio.
Static.
Then her voice.
“Your father loves you.”
Gabriel froze.
Hannah walked out.
Eli stared into the darkness.
Then whispered:
“I wish he acted like it.”
Gabriel stopped the recording.
For several minutes, he couldn't breathe.
The next morning, he told himself it didn't matter.
That was his mistake.
Because at 2:17 a.m., the camera recorded something that changed everything.
Gabriel was awake.
He always was.
He saw Hannah enter Eli's room.
She checked the hallway.
Locked the door.
Then walked to the window.
She pulled the curtain aside.
Gabriel sat upright.
Outside was nothing but darkness.
Hannah reached beneath the windowsill.
She pulled out a small black envelope.
Gabriel's heart slammed against his ribs.
She looked at it.
Then whispered:
“I found it.”
Gabriel immediately activated the security switch.
“Lock the house.”
Every door in the mansion clicked shut.
Security personnel rushed through the corridors.
Gabriel ran upstairs.
When he reached Eli's bedroom, Hannah was standing beside the bed.
The envelope was gone.
“What did you find?”
Hannah turned.
Her face had gone pale.
“Nothing.”
Gabriel stared at her.
“You're lying.”
She said nothing.
“Where is it?”
“I don't know what you're talking about.”
Gabriel stepped closer.
“I saw you.”
Hannah's eyes flicked toward Eli.
The boy was awake.
Watching.
Gabriel followed her gaze.
Then he saw something beneath Eli's pillow.
A corner of black paper.
Gabriel reached for it.
Eli grabbed his wrist.
“No.”
Gabriel stared at his son.
It was the first time Eli had ever physically stopped him.
“What is it?”
Eli's face tightened.
“Mom's.”
Gabriel slowly looked at Hannah.
“Where did you get this?”
Hannah swallowed.
“I didn't.”
“Then who did?”
She hesitated.
And finally whispered:
“Your wife.”
Gabriel's blood turned cold.
“Claire is dead.”
“I know.”
“Then don't say her name like that.”
Hannah looked directly into his eyes.
“She left something behind.”
Gabriel pulled the black envelope from beneath the pillow.
There was no name on it.
Only three words written in Claire's handwriting.
IF GABRIEL FINDS THIS.
Gabriel's hands began to shake.
Because beneath the words was a second line.
One he had never seen before.
DON'T TRUST THE CAMERAS.
May you like
And for the first time since he installed them, Gabriel Marlowe wondered whether his cameras had been protecting him...
Or helping someone hide the truth.
