The phone continued ringing inside the house.
Marcus stared at the open front door, his expression transformed by a sudden, unmistakable fear.
Elena noticed.
“Mr. Reed, what's wrong?”
He swallowed.
“That ringtone.”
“What about it?”
“I know it.”
Daniel rolled his eyes.
“Now what?”
Marcus barely seemed to hear him.
“That phone belongs to my brother.”
Elena glanced toward the house.
“Is your brother here?”
“No. He shouldn't be.”
“What's his name?”
“Anthony Reed.”
The name meant nothing to Elena, but Marcus's reaction suggested it meant something to him.
“Why shouldn't he be here?”
Marcus hesitated.
“Because Anthony died eleven months ago.”
The driveway fell silent.
Even Daniel appeared momentarily unsettled.
The phone stopped ringing.
For several seconds, no one spoke.
Then the woman began crying again.
“He told me he was dead,” she whispered.
Marcus turned toward her.
“What did you say?”
She covered her mouth.
Daniel stepped between them.
“Don't speak to her.”
Marcus's voice rose for the first time.
“You know my brother?”
The woman shook her head frantically.
“No. I don't.”
“Then why did you say he told you something?”
“I didn't mean—”
“Who are you?”
Daniel grabbed Marcus's shoulder.
“Back off!”
Marcus tried to turn, but the officer shoved him against the SUV again.
Elena immediately intervened.
“Daniel, release him. He's handcuffed now, and we're not going to get answers by forcing him against a vehicle.”
Daniel's grip tightened.
“You want to lecture me in front of a witness?”
“I want you to stop treating every question as a threat.”
He finally stepped away.
Marcus remained against the hood, breathing slowly through his nose.
Elena turned toward the woman.
“Ma'am, I need your name.”
The woman wiped her cheeks.
“Victoria.”
“Your full name?”
“Victoria Hayes.”
“How do you know Marcus Reed?”
“I don't.”
“Then why were you on his property?”
Victoria stared at the ground.
“I was running from him.”
“From whom?”
“Marcus.”
Elena waited.
Victoria's eyes shifted toward the garage.
“Please,” she said, “can we do this somewhere else?”
“We can move you to a safe location once we understand what's happening.”
“I need to leave.”
“Not yet.”
Victoria looked up sharply.
“What?”
“We need to establish what happened here. If you have been assaulted, I want to help you. But there are unanswered questions, and we need to address them.”
Victoria's face tightened.
For the first time, Elena saw anger beneath the fear.
“You think I'm lying?”
“I didn't say that.”
“You don't believe women who report violence?”
Elena kept her voice even.
“I believe allegations should be taken seriously. That includes protecting people who may be in danger and gathering evidence before deciding what happened.”
Victoria looked toward Daniel.
“He believes me.”
Daniel nodded immediately.
“I do.”
Elena turned toward him.
“You haven't even taken her full statement.”
“I know what I saw.”
“You saw her running and heard her accusation. You didn't see an assault.”
Daniel's face darkened.
“Watch yourself.”
Victoria suddenly stepped closer to Daniel.
“Officer Mercer, please. You promised me.”
The words escaped her before she could stop them.
Elena's head turned.
“What did you just say?”
Victoria froze.
Daniel's expression changed.
“I didn't promise her anything,” he said quickly.
But Elena had heard the words clearly.
You promised me.
She looked from Daniel to Victoria.
“Do you two know each other?”
“No,” Daniel replied.
At precisely the same time, Victoria said, “Not personally.”
The contradiction hung in the air.
Marcus slowly straightened as far as his handcuffs allowed.
“Interesting,” he said.
Daniel spun toward him.
“Not another word.”
Marcus looked directly at the officer.
“I'm beginning to understand why you don't want to see the footage.”
Daniel stepped forward, but Elena raised one hand.
“Don't.”
This time, Daniel stopped.
Elena approached Marcus.
“Mr. Reed, do you have access to your surveillance system from your phone?”
“Yes.”
“Can you show me the recording without entering the house?”
“My phone is in my pocket.”
Daniel immediately objected.
“Absolutely not. He's a suspect.”
“I'm not asking him to access anything without supervision. I'm asking whether the evidence can be reviewed safely.”
“The system could be manipulated.”
“Then we'll preserve the original files and have them examined.”
Marcus nodded.
“The system uploads recordings automatically. Even if someone destroys the equipment, the files remain on the remote server.”
Daniel looked toward the cameras.
“That's not necessarily admissible.”
“That's for investigators and the courts to determine,” Elena replied.
Marcus looked at her with something resembling relief.
“Thank you.”
She signaled for him to remain still while she retrieved his identification and phone. Daniel watched her with open displeasure.
When she unlocked the phone under Marcus's direction, she found a security application on the home screen.
A red notification displayed the words:
MOTION EVENT DETECTED — FRONT ENTRY — 11:42 P.M.
Elena checked the time.
It was 11:47 p.m.
“Five minutes ago,” she said.
Marcus nodded.
“That's when I heard the footsteps.”
The application displayed several camera feeds. Elena opened the front-entry recording.
A figure appeared on-screen, moving through the doorway.
The image was dark, but the system's infrared mode revealed a person wearing a long coat and carrying a bag.
Elena paused the video.
The figure's face remained turned away from the camera.
“Can you identify this person?” she asked.
Marcus leaned forward.
“I can't tell from that angle.”
Elena advanced the recording.
The figure disappeared into the house.
A few seconds later, another notification appeared on the phone.
MOTION EVENT DETECTED — GARAGE INTERIOR.
Elena opened the second clip.
The garage door had been closed, but a shadow moved behind the frosted side window.
Then the interior light switched on.
A man stepped into view.
Marcus stopped breathing.
The man's face was older, thinner, and marked by a pale scar near his left eyebrow.
But there was no mistaking the resemblance.
Marcus whispered a single word.
“Anthony.”
Victoria stumbled backward.
Daniel stared at the phone.
Elena replayed the clip.
The man turned toward the camera.
His lips moved.
Although the camera had no audio, the expression on his face was unmistakable.
He was smiling.
Marcus shook his head slowly.
“No. This can't be real.”
Elena looked at him.
“Are you certain that's your brother?”
Marcus's eyes filled with tears he refused to let fall.
“I buried him.”
The recording continued.
Anthony looked directly into the lens, raised one hand, and pointed toward the house.
Then he mouthed three words.
Marcus understood them immediately.
I'm coming home.