Chapter 1: The Missing Money
“Dad… the money was stolen.””
Maya stood in the doorway with tears running down her cheeks, one hand clutching a crumpled tuition notice and the other gripping the strap of her backpack so tightly her knuckles had gone white.
I stared at her.
Then I looked past her at the living room table.
The same table where, twelve hours earlier, I had placed the envelope containing her tuition money.
It was gone.
“Maya,” I said carefully, “come inside.””
She stepped through the door.
Her shoes squeaked against the wet tile. It had been raining since late afternoon, and the ends of her dark hair were damp against her jacket.
Vanessa came out of the kitchen carrying a dish towel.
“What happened?”” she asked.
Maya looked at her.
For half a second, something passed between them.
Fear.
Or maybe I only imagined it.
“My tuition money is missing,” Maya whispered.
Vanessa stopped walking.
“What do you mean, missing?””
“I put my backpack in my room after class. When I came back downstairs, the envelope was gone.””
Vanessa's eyebrows lifted.
“Are you sure you didn't put it somewhere else?””
Maya's face tightened.
“No.””
“Did you check your room?””
“Yes.””
“Your backpack?””
“Yes.””
“Your locker?””
“Vanessa,” I said.
She turned toward me.
“What?””
“She's upset.””
“I know she's upset,” Vanessa replied.
“I'm just asking questions.””
Maya lowered her eyes.
I walked over and put a hand on her shoulder.
“Don't worry. We'll figure this out.””
Her voice broke.
“It was everything, Dad.””
“I know.””
“It's three thousand eight hundred dollars.””
The number landed heavily in the room.
Three thousand eight hundred dollars.
Maya's entire semester of tuition.
She had worked two jobs all summer to help cover part of it. I had paid the rest from a savings account I'd been building for years.
And the envelope had been sitting on the living room table.
In plain sight.
I remembered placing it there.
I'd counted the bills twice.
Then I'd called Maya from work and told her to take it to the bank the following morning.
She'd said she would.
But that night, before she could make the deposit, it disappeared.
I looked at Vanessa.
She folded the dish towel slowly.
“That was a lot of money to leave lying around,” she said.
Maya looked up sharply.
“You said Dad was okay with it.””
“I said nothing,” Vanessa replied.
“You were right there when he gave it to me.””
“I don't remember.””
“I do.””
“Maya,” I warned gently.
She swallowed.
“I'm sorry.””
Vanessa sighed.
“I’m not blaming her.””
But the way she said it sounded exactly like blame.
I walked to the table.
The empty spot where the envelope had been seemed almost absurdly obvious.
“We have cameras,” I said.
Vanessa's expression changed.
Only slightly.
But I saw it.
Her fingers stopped moving.
“What cameras?”” Maya asked.
“The security cameras,” I said.
“Living room. Front door. Hallway.””
Vanessa gave a small laugh.
“Right. The cameras.””
I looked at her.
“You know they record continuously.””
“Of course.””
“Then we'll see who took it.””
She nodded.
“Unless the system malfunctioned.””
I frowned.
“What?””
“Those cameras have been acting strange lately.””
“When?””
“A few days.””
“You didn't tell me.””
“I forgot.””
Maya stared at her.
“You forgot to tell Dad that our security system wasn't working?””
Vanessa shrugged.
“It wasn't completely broken.””
I pulled out my phone.
The camera system was connected to an app. I opened the live feed first.
The front door camera showed the driveway.
The hallway camera showed an empty corridor.
Then I opened the living room.
My stomach tightened.
The camera wasn't pointed at the table.
It was facing the wall.
I zoomed in.
The picture showed nothing except a framed landscape painting.
No table.
No sofa.
No doorway.
Nothing useful.
“When did this happen?”” I asked.
Vanessa walked closer.
“Probably a malfunction.””
I turned toward her.
“A malfunction makes a camera rotate ninety degrees?””
She blinked.
“Maybe.””
“Maybe?””
“I'm not an expert, Daniel.””
Maya whispered, “Dad…”
I held up a hand.
“Wait.””
I scrubbed backward through the footage.
The camera remained pointed at the wall.
I went farther back.
Still the wall.
Then, at 8:14 p.m., the image flickered.
Black.
Then the wall again.
I checked the system settings.
The camera had been manually repositioned at 8:11 p.m.
Three minutes before the recording supposedly went blind.
“That's not a malfunction,” I said.
Vanessa folded her arms.
“You're assuming too much.””
“I haven't assumed anything.””
“You're looking at a camera that moved.””
“Exactly.””
“And that proves nothing.””
Maya wiped her cheeks.
“Why are you defending whoever did it?””
Vanessa's head snapped toward her.
“I'm not defending anyone.””
“Then why—”
“Enough.””
My voice stopped them both.
I had never liked shouting in front of Maya.
But something about this felt wrong.
Not just the missing money.
The timing.
The camera.
Vanessa's strange certainty.
I looked at the footage again.
“Everyone was home last night,” I said.
Maya nodded.
“I came home at seven.””
“I got home around eight,” Vanessa said.
“And I was here at eight thirty.””
She nodded.
“So between seven and eight thirty, anyone could have taken it.””
Vanessa's eyes stayed on mine.
“Exactly.””
My phone buzzed.
The sound was small.
But in that quiet room, it seemed impossibly loud.
I glanced down.
Unknown number.
One message.
I opened it.
*The camera didn't move by itself.*
I stopped breathing for a second.
Maya noticed my face.
“What is it?””
I didn't answer.
Vanessa stepped closer.
“Daniel?””
I turned the phone toward myself.
The message was still there.
Another one appeared.
*Check who stood beneath it before it moved.*
I looked at the camera.
Then at Vanessa.
She had gone pale.
“Who sent that?”” she asked.
“I don't know.””
“Show me.””
“No.””
Her eyes narrowed.
“Why not?””
“Because whoever sent it knows something.””
Maya stood between us, confused.
“Dad, what's happening?””
I put the phone away.
“I'm going to find out.””
Vanessa shook her head.
“Daniel, this is getting ridiculous. Someone could be playing a prank.””
“Maybe.””
“You're going to believe an anonymous text over me?””
“I haven't believed anyone yet.””
Her mouth tightened.
I opened the security app again.
This time, I didn't watch the footage around the theft.
I went backward.
Ten minutes.
Twenty.
Thirty.
I watched the living room.
At 8:05, the camera showed the table.
The envelope was there.
At 8:08, Maya walked through the room carrying a glass of water.
At 8:10, she went upstairs.
At 8:11, the camera image shook.
Someone had entered the room.
I leaned closer to the screen.
A woman stood directly beneath the camera.
Dark sweater.
Hair tied back.
One hand raised toward the lens.
I froze.
Because I knew that sweater.
I knew that hair.
And when the woman tilted her face upward, there was no mistaking her.
Vanessa.
She wasn't stealing the envelope.
She wasn't even looking at it.
She was looking directly into the camera.
Then she reached up.
The screen went black.
And three seconds later, the camera was facing the wall.
I slowly turned around.
Vanessa was standing behind me.
May you like
She whispered one sentence.
“Daniel, please don't watch the rest.””
