Chapter 10: Madison Turns the Staircase Into a Barrier
The staircase cut across the foyer like a wall. Madison stood on the first step in her crimson pantsuit, one hand resting on the banister, her body angled so she filled the space between Ethan and the upper landing. Clara remained near the marble floor, one hand pressed beneath her lip. Water still spread from the overturned bucket, carrying a thin reflection of the staircase toward the front door.
I held the black smartphone with both hands and kept its camera pointed at Madison.
My name is Noah, and I was seven years old.
Ethan had been guarding the place Clara showed us, the place connected to the hidden documents. He stood close enough to block Madison from reaching it, but not close enough to leave Clara alone. When Madison stepped higher, Ethan shifted after her. She moved sideways along the stair, forcing him to choose between following her and staying beside Clara.
Madison glanced toward Clara, then toward the storage place, and finally at me. Her face stayed controlled, but her shoulders were tight. She descended two steps, crossed in front of the grand staircase, and stopped directly between Ethan and Clara.
I backed away until the edge of the marble met my heel. The phone stayed raised. On its screen, Madison's crimson jacket looked smaller than she did in the room, but the red shape still marked every place she moved. A small warning on the screen showed that the recording space was getting low. I did not understand how much time remained. I only knew the phone might stop before the truth was safe.
Ethan took one step toward Clara.
Madison took one step across his path.
He turned his shoulders, trying to keep sight of both of us. Madison matched him. The banister creaked under her hand as she backed toward the stairs again, using the narrow space to make Ethan move around her.
Clara lifted her uninjured hand. Her fingers pointed first toward me, then toward the front door. Her eyes stayed on the phone. I understood that she wanted the device away from Madison and near a way out, even though she did not speak.
I moved along the wall, keeping the camera trained on Madison. My arms began to ache. The phone felt heavier than it had before, and the warning on the screen remained there, bright and impossible to ignore.
Madison suddenly climbed higher. Ethan stepped after her, but she stopped at the turn in the staircase and looked down. From there, she could see Clara, me, and the place where the documents were hidden. The staircase gave her a clear view of everything while keeping Ethan below her.
The phone captured it all.
Ethan looked back at Clara. She had shifted away from the water, but her knee slipped slightly on the wet marble. His attention snapped toward her. Madison moved at once, descending just far enough to occupy the line between him and the storage place.
I lowered the phone for one second to see the screen. The remaining recording space had shrunk again.
My thumb hovered near the controls. If I kept recording, the phone might preserve Madison's next move. If I stopped, the earlier footage would remain, including the push and her search. My hands trembled as I raised it again.
Ethan crossed toward Clara, taking the narrow route beside the staircase. Madison reached toward the banister, preparing to cut him off once more.
I stepped backward toward the front door, still filming. The phone's warning glowed between my hands. Clara watched me. Ethan watched Madison. Madison watched the device.
May you like
For one breath, the route between all of us opened.
Then Madison moved into it.
