The mansion’s surveillance system was connected to a secure server he had installed years earlier after an attempted burglary. Few people knew he could access every corner of the house remotely—even from his corporate headquarters. He had never imagined he would need to use it for something like this.
His fingers hovered over the keyboard as he rewound the footage.
The screen showed the living room just minutes before the incident. Sophie was sitting alone on the floor, quietly drawing with colored pencils. A crystal vase rested safely on the edge of the table above her.
Then Monica entered the room.
She approached Sophie.
There was no audio, but their body language told the story clearly.
Sophie shook her head.
Monica picked up the vase.
She moved it closer to the table’s edge.
She said something to the little girl.
Sophie’s shoulders tensed. Even without sound, her fear was unmistakable.
And then—
A sudden motion.
The vase fell.
But it wasn’t an accident.
The final frame before it crashed to the floor clearly showed Monica’s hand pushing it.
Jonathan leaned back in his chair as if someone had struck him.
But that wasn’t the worst part.
He scrolled further back.
Days.
Then weeks.