Chapter 2 - The Camera Nobody Was Supposed to Find
Michael picked up the small camera.
Vanessa immediately moved.
“Give me that.”
Michael stepped away.
“Why?”
“It belongs to security.”
“Security cameras aren’t hidden inside walls.”
The bodyguard groaned beneath the cabinet.
Michael called 911.
Vanessa stared at him.
“You’re calling the police?”
“You hurt my daughter.”
“You assaulted me.”
Michael froze.
Vanessa touched her swelling cheek.
Then she smiled.
“You just punched a woman and nearly killed an employee.”
Michael looked toward Lily.
His anger cooled instantly.
That was exactly what Vanessa wanted.
A reaction.
A violent one.
The front door opened fifteen minutes later.
Police officers entered.
Vanessa began crying before they asked a single question.
“He lost control.”
Michael stared at her.
“He came home angry,” Vanessa continued. “Lily was having a tantrum. I was trying to calm her.”
Lily screamed.
“No!”
Vanessa’s tears came faster.
“Michael has always had anger problems.”
One officer looked toward the overturned cabinet.
Then toward the massive retired boxer.
Michael understood how the scene looked.
Vanessa bruised.
Bodyguard injured.
Furniture destroyed.
Michael standing in the middle.
Vanessa whispered:
“I’m afraid for Lily.”
Michael’s stomach turned.
Officer Reynolds crouched beside Lily.
“Sweetheart, did somebody hurt you?”
Lily looked toward Vanessa.
Then immediately hid behind Michael’s leg.
That was enough to make Reynolds notice.
“What happened before your father arrived?”
Lily pointed.
“Vanessa dragged me.”
Vanessa shook her head.
“She’s two years old.”
Michael’s jaw tightened.
Officer Reynolds stood.
“What about the hidden camera?”
Vanessa hesitated.
“Security.”
“Why was it concealed?”
“I don’t know.”
Michael handed Reynolds the phone recovered from behind the cabinet.
The screen was locked.
The wallpaper showed Vanessa.
Not the bodyguard.
Not Michael.
Vanessa.
Michael looked at her.
“Whose phone is that?”
“No idea.”
The injured bodyguard suddenly spoke.
“It’s mine.”
Everyone turned.
Vanessa’s face changed.
The bodyguard looked directly at her.
Then he said something Michael didn’t expect.
“She told me to record everything.”
Vanessa snapped.
“Shut up, Ryan.”
Too late.
Officer Reynolds looked between them.
“Record what?”
Ryan hesitated.
Vanessa stared at him with pure warning.
Michael saw it.
So did the police.
Ryan swallowed.
“Michael.”
Michael went still.
“Why?”
Ryan looked away.
“I think you should ask her.”
May you like
👉 Vanessa had spent months building a record of Michael’s behavior—and suddenly Michael realized his return home might have triggered a trap that had been waiting for him.
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