Late that night, under the cover of heavy rain and darkness, Elena slipped out of the cottage. She knew the security protocols of the mansion better than anyone. While the main gates were locked, the service entrance near the garage was always left on a manual key latch for the morning groundskeeper.
Elena: Please let the key still be under the stone...
She reached under a large potted fern near the side door. Her fingers touched the cold metal of the spare key. She unlocked the heavy door and stepped inside quietly, her soft rubber-soled shoes making no sound against the back hallway floor.
Elena: Victoria said the foyer camera was off... but the backup hard drive in the basement records everything directly from the lens feed.
Elena navigated the dark corridors until she reached the basement stairs. She moved down step by step, her heart hammering in her throat. The basement housed the estate's central server room, a temperature-controlled vault where all security logs, mortgage documents, and household records were stored.
Elena: The passcode... what was Marcus's anniversary date?
She remembered seeing the framed wedding certificate on Marcus's desk. June 12th. She typed `0-6-1-2` into the digital keypad. The lock clicked open with a soft blue light.
Elena: Yes!
She slipped inside the cool server room. Rows of black boxes blinked with green and red LED lights. She found the main terminal and sat down at the screen, inserting a small USB flash drive she had bought at a convenience store earlier that evening.
Elena: Foyer Camera 1... timestamp 10:15 AM.
She pulled up the footage from earlier that morning. Her hands trembled as the video loaded on the monitor.
Elena: There... look at that!
The video clearly showed Victoria pushing the stroller toward the second-floor railing. Victoria looked around to make sure no one was watching, then deliberately reached down, unlocked the wheel brakes, and gave the stroller a hard shove toward the opening above the foyer.
Elena: She did it... she actually pushed it!
On the screen, the stroller slammed into the base of the railing, tipping the baby forward over the edge. In that exact second, Victoria's lace glove caught on the metal frame, tearing open at the wrist just as Elena had described. The video showed Elena diving across the floor below, making the impossible catch with milliseconds to spare.
Elena: I have you now, Victoria. You won't hurt her ever again.
Elena plugged the USB drive in and started downloading the video file. The progress bar moved agonizingly slowly: 20%... 40%... 60%...
Voice: Looking for something, Elena?
Elena gasped and whipped her head around. Standing in the doorway of the server room was Victoria, holding a heavy brass paperweight in her hand, her eyes cold and empty.
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