Chapter 3 - The Video That Was Never Supposed to Exist
Chadworth had expected Sabina to deny everything.
He had prepared himself for tears, excuses, and accusations.
What he hadn't expected was to discover that she had been preparing evidence against him and Rosamund long before he suspected anything was wrong.
He remained seated beside Lorelai, holding the purple notebook.
"Sweetheart, can you tell me where she made the recording?"
Lorelai glanced toward Gemma, who was still asleep.
"In the little sitting room near the library."
"Was anybody else there?"
"Just Miss Sabina."
"Did she tell you why she wanted to record you?"
Lorelai nodded.
"She said it was for a family safety project."
Chadworth waited without interrupting.
"She told us to say things we didn't mean. I said I didn't want to, but she got angry."
"What happened then?"
"She said Rosamund would lose her job if I didn't help."
Chadworth felt his fingers tighten around the notebook.
He loosened his grip.
"I'm sorry you were put in that position. You were trying to protect someone you cared about."
Lorelai looked at him.
"Am I in trouble for saying it?"
"No."
"Even if I lied?"
"Someone pressured you to say those things. That doesn't make this your fault."
Lorelai looked relieved, but she didn't smile.
Chadworth could see how carefully she was weighing every answer he gave.
Trust, he realized, would not return merely because he finally said the right things.
It would return through repetition.
Through presence.
Through proving that the truth was safe with him.
That afternoon, Chadworth met Miriam and Graham in his private study.
He placed the purple notebook on the desk.
Miriam read the pages slowly.
By the time she finished, her face was grave.
"This needs to be documented carefully," she said.
"I want to find that recording."
"We will try. But don't interrogate the girls or make them repeat everything to different adults."
Chadworth nodded.
"I don't want them feeling as though they're being investigated."
"Good. I'm also going to recommend a qualified child therapist. Someone independent who can help them work through this."
Chadworth looked toward the family photographs on his desk.
Elena was smiling in one of them, her arms wrapped around the girls.
The picture had been taken the summer before her illness became serious.
At the time, Chadworth had promised her that he would always put their daughters first.
He wondered what she would think if she could see him now.
Graham opened his laptop.
"Sir, I've reviewed the security logs from the last two months. There's something unusual."
"What?"
"Miss Sabina requested access to the staff changing area several times. She told the facilities manager she needed to inspect missing property."
Chadworth frowned.
"Why wasn't I informed?"
"She was listed as an authorized household administrator."
The words stung.
Chadworth himself had approved that arrangement.
He had granted Sabina broad access because he believed she was about to become part of the family.
"What happened during those visits?"
Graham rotated the laptop.
"Look at this."
The footage showed a hallway outside the staff lockers.
Sabina entered carrying a small velvet pouch.
She looked over her shoulder before approaching a locker assigned to Rosamund.
She opened it with an administrator's key.
Then she placed the pouch inside.
Chadworth leaned forward.
"What's in that bag?"
"We don't know from the footage alone."
Graham switched to a second recording.
This one was taken the following afternoon.
Sabina stood beside the same lockers, speaking to the head of housekeeping.
Although there was no audio in that hallway, her gestures were unmistakable.
She pointed toward Rosamund's locker, then mimed opening it.
Chadworth remembered what followed.
Sabina had told him her diamond bracelet was missing.
She had insisted Rosamund was the obvious suspect.
And he had allowed that accusation to linger.
He leaned back in his chair.
"Did anyone actually find the bracelet?"
Graham shook his head.
"No, sir. Rosamund refused to allow her personal locker to be searched without you present, and Miss Sabina eventually claimed she didn't want to create a scandal."
Chadworth stared at the frozen image.
That refusal had once seemed suspicious to him.
Now he understood it differently.
Rosamund had been protecting herself against an accusation she feared had already been decided.
"Is the locker still assigned to her?"
"Yes."
"Don't open it without her permission. Ask whether she's comfortable reviewing the footage with Miriam."
Graham nodded.
An hour later, Rosamund entered the study.
She watched the recording quietly.
When Sabina appeared carrying the velvet pouch, Rosamund covered her mouth.
"I knew something was wrong."
Chadworth looked toward her.
"What happened?"
"She kept asking me whether I'd seen her bracelet. Then she told me wealthy families couldn't afford to trust people who didn't understand the value of expensive things."
Rosamund's voice trembled.
"She wanted me to feel ashamed before anyone even accused me."
Miriam leaned forward.
"Rosamund, would you be willing to check your locker with us present?"
Rosamund hesitated.
Then she nodded.
"Yes."
They walked together to the staff changing area.
Rosamund unlocked her locker.
Inside were a spare uniform, a small handbag, a paperback novel, and a folded cardigan.
Behind the cardigan sat a dark red velvet pouch.
Rosamund stared at it.
"I've never seen that before."
Miriam photographed the pouch where it lay before arranging for it to be examined.
Inside was a diamond bracelet.
Chadworth recognized it immediately.
It was the anniversary gift he had given Sabina the previous year.
For several seconds, nobody spoke.
Then Rosamund's knees seemed to weaken.
She caught the edge of the locker.
"She put that there."
Chadworth nodded.
"The camera shows her putting the pouch in your locker."
Rosamund pressed a hand against her chest.
"All those weeks... I thought everyone believed I'd stolen it."
The pain in her voice disturbed him more than anger would have.
He realized that suspicion had consequences even when no punishment followed.
It changed how people walked into rooms.
How they answered questions.
How they felt about their own dignity.
"I'm sorry," Chadworth said.
Rosamund looked at him.
"I didn't need you to trust me because I worked for you, sir."
Her voice became steadier.
"I needed you to treat me fairly because I'm a person."
Chadworth lowered his eyes.
"You're right."
Later, he returned to his study with Miriam.
The bracelet was secured, the footage preserved, and a formal record prepared.
It was no longer simply one person's word against another.
Sabina had apparently tried to manufacture evidence against Rosamund.
But the question remained.
Why?
Chadworth had enough money to support Sabina for the rest of her life. She had expensive jewelry, access to luxury travel, and the promise of marriage to one of the country's wealthiest men.
Why would she risk everything to destroy a housekeeper?
Miriam was studying the records when Chadworth's phone vibrated.
An unknown number had sent him a video file.
Below it was a short message.
You think you know what your daughters said? Watch this before you make another mistake.
Chadworth opened the video.
Lorelai appeared on the screen.
She was sitting alone in the library's small sitting room.
Her face was pale.
She looked directly at the camera.
Then she spoke in a trembling voice.
"My name is Lorelai Prescott, and I'm afraid of my father."
May you like
Chadworth felt the blood drain from his face.
Because someone had already begun turning his daughter's fear into a weapon against him.
