Chapter 2 - What the Cameras Remembered
The emergency department smelled of antiseptic and coffee that had been warming too long.
Sienna sat beneath a thin blanket while a physician examined her hand. Two fingers were fractured. Her wrist needed further imaging, and the cut near her temple required careful cleaning.
Every question was ordinary.
Every answer felt dangerous.
“Do you feel safe returning home?”
“No.”
The physician nodded and wrote it down.
No argument.
No reminder of how fortunate she was.
A hospital social worker named Dana came next. She explained options slowly, giving Sienna time to ask questions. An officer took an initial statement, then stopped when the physician said she needed rest.
Sienna had expected an interrogation.
Instead, people kept asking whether she needed a break.
Cillian waited outside until she requested him.
When he entered, he had removed his overcoat. Rain darkened the shoulders of his suit.
“You look terrible,” she said.
His mouth shifted slightly.
“You should see the other man.”
She stiffened.
He noticed immediately.
“I meant your father’s public relations strategy.”
A surprised breath escaped her.
Almost a laugh.
He pulled a chair beside the bed, leaving enough distance that she did not feel crowded.
“Why did you come?” she asked.
“You called.”
“That isn’t an answer.”
“It is mine.”
She looked down at the blanket.
Eighteen months earlier, Sienna had met him at a hospital fundraising dinner. Her father had sent her to deliver a folder to the wrong table, then blamed her when Cillian noticed confidential donor information inside.
Cillian had asked to speak with her privately.
Not because of the mistake.
Because he had seen her flinch when Edmund approached.
He had written a number on the back of a place card.
If you ever need a ride out of somewhere, call.
She had kept it in her shoe that night because her father sometimes searched her purse.
“I thought you might not remember,” she whispered.
“I remembered.”
A knock interrupted them.
An officer entered with a request to clarify the camera system.
Sienna explained that the recordings were stored locally and backed up through a security service. She had helped schedule maintenance and knew which company managed it.
“Can your father delete the footage?” the officer asked.
“Probably. But the service keeps copies for a while.”
The officer thanked her and left.
Cillian’s phone vibrated.
He checked the screen, then turned it facedown.
“Is that about me?”
“Yes.”
“What does it say?”
He hesitated.
She lifted her chin.
“Please don’t decide what I can handle.”
He studied her for a moment.
Then handed her the phone.
A message from his attorney, Helena Ward, summarized a call from Millhaven’s security provider. Officers were seeking to preserve relevant recordings. An employee at the estate had reported an attempt to shut down the system.
Sienna read it twice.
“He’s already trying.”
“Yes.”
“My father always says people believe whoever speaks first.”
Cillian leaned back.
“Then we make sure you’re heard accurately.”
“We?”
“If you want help.”
There it was again.
A choice.
She returned the phone.
“I want an attorney who works for me.”
A small, approving nod.
“Helena can recommend someone independent.”
“And somewhere to stay that isn’t your house.”
“Also possible.”
He did not look offended.
That mattered more than she wanted to admit.
At three seventeen in the morning, Dana returned with a quiet update. A hotel room had been arranged through a local support organization while longer-term options were discussed. Sienna could decide whether to accept assistance.
She accepted.
At four twelve, her phone began ringing.
Margaux.
Then Phoebe.
Then a cousin who had never called her before.
She let them go unanswered.
At four forty-six, an unfamiliar number sent a message.
Your father is making this worse. I need to speak with you before the records disappear.
Below it was a name.
Martin Vale.
Sienna remembered the elderly treasurer on the staircase.
She showed Cillian.
He did not touch the phone.
“Do you trust him?”
“No.”
“Then don’t meet him alone.”
She called the officer who had taken her statement.
By five thirty, Martin had agreed to speak at the station.
By six, the hospital discharged Sienna with instructions, medication, and a follow-up appointment with a hand specialist.
Outside, the sky had begun turning gray.
Cillian opened the car door, then stepped aside.
Before she entered, Sienna looked at him.
“You knew there were cameras.”
“I knew the house had a security system. I hoped there would be something to preserve.”
“You sounded certain.”
“You needed to know your father wasn’t the only witness.”
She considered that.
Then her phone vibrated again.
This time it was Phoebe.
Please don’t believe everything Dad says about Mom’s accident.
Sienna stopped moving.
May you like
Her mother had died seventeen years earlier.
For the first time since leaving Millhaven, the pain in her hand disappeared beneath something colder.
