“Interesting,” he murmured. “You were perfectly happy to let everyone believe your story until someone suggested checking the recording.”
“SHUT UP!” she screamed.
The sudden outburst silenced the room.
Evelyn Hayes stepped closer to her father, her emerald-green sleeves catching the light.
“Why are you so afraid of a camera if you're telling the truth?”
“I'm not afraid!”
“Then let it play.”
Damon pressed the playback button.
The screen showed the living room from a high angle. The timestamp confirmed that the recording had begun several minutes before Evelyn entered the house.
At first, nothing unusual happened.
Walter sat quietly on the sofa, holding a glass of water. The woman in yellow walked past him, glancing repeatedly toward the hallway. She checked her phone, straightened her blouse, and looked directly toward the front door.
Then she approached Walter.
The room fell silent.
On the screen, Walter stood slowly as the woman spoke to him. The audio was faint, but the security system's microphone captured enough to reveal their exchange.
“Just tell Damon what I asked you to tell him,” she said.
Walter shook his head.
“I won't lie to him.”
The woman's expression hardened.
“Then you'll regret it.”
In the present, Damon stopped breathing for a moment.
“What is she talking about?” he whispered.
The footage continued.
The woman moved closer to Walter, pointing toward the hallway. Walter stepped back, visibly uncomfortable, and raised one hand to signal that he wanted her to stop.
Then she suddenly grabbed her own sleeve, stumbled sideways, and began shouting.
“GET AWAY FROM ME!”
She threw herself against the sofa and screamed for Damon.
On the screen, Walter stood several feet away from her.
He had never touched her.
The recording played the woman's desperate performance in full: the frantic gestures, the accusations, the tears that appeared only after she heard Damon approaching.
Damon's face drained of color.
“No…” he whispered.
The woman lunged toward the monitor.
“Turn it off! That footage is misleading!”
Damon caught her wrist—not violently, but firmly enough to stop her from reaching the controls.
“Don't touch anything.”