Chapter 4: Madison Reaches Toward the Evidence
Madison moved before Ethan could finish turning toward her.
Her crimson sleeve cut through the gray light of the foyer as she stepped around the edge of the spreading water. The marble made a small sound beneath her shoes, a sharp tap that seemed louder than it should have been. I held the phone against my chest with both hands. The screen was still lit. The recording had not stopped.
Ethan stood between Madison and Clara, his shoulders squared. Clara remained on the floor several steps behind him, one hand pressed near the corner of her mouth. A thin red mark showed against her skin. Water slipped around the overturned bucket and reached the lower edge of the grand staircase.
Madison looked at the phone.
Not at me first. At the phone.
Then she reached.
I backed away so quickly my heel struck the first stair. The jolt traveled up my leg. My fingers tightened around the black case, and the phone nearly slid from my palms before I caught it against my shirt.
Madison stopped with her hand suspended in the air.
Ethan shifted sideways, closing the space between us. His arm lowered in front of me, not touching me, but making a barrier I could see and understand. Madison's hand dropped slowly.
The foyer felt smaller than it had a moment before. The staircase rose behind me, broad and pale, with its railing curving upward into the silence. To my left, the wet marble reflected pieces of everyone's legs. To my right, Clara watched Madison without lifting her eyes all the way.
Madison took another step.
I took another step backward.
The phone stayed between my hands. On its screen, the frozen image showed the foyer from before: Clara falling, Madison above her, the bucket tipped over. I could see the edge of Madison's crimson pantsuit in the picture. I could see the moment her arm had driven forward.
My breathing became uneven. I pressed my thumb against the side of the phone, making sure it was still recording the room now. A small red mark remained on the screen. The first recording was there. The new one was there too.
Madison's gaze flicked from the display to my face. Her expression had changed. The calm look she had worn when Ethan entered was gone, replaced by a tight concentration that made her seem more dangerous than her raised voice could have.
She moved sharply toward the staircase.
Ethan stepped directly into her path.
His shoes stopped just in front of hers. He did not reach for her. He did not need to. The space between them narrowed until Madison could not get around him without coming closer.
Behind him, Clara shifted one knee on the marble. Her wet hand left a faint streak across the floor. I wanted to go to her, but Ethan was between us, and Madison was between the phone and every direction that felt safe.
Madison turned her head toward Clara, then back toward me. Her hand lifted again, this time only halfway. The gesture looked almost careful. That made me retreat farther.
My shoulder touched the staircase railing.
The phone pressed hard into my ribs. I kept the camera pointed outward, catching Madison, Ethan, the water, and Clara in the same frame. The image shook with my hands, but it stayed clear enough to show who stood where.
Madison tried to angle past Ethan.
He matched her movement.
She tried the other side.
He blocked that too.
For several seconds, neither of them moved forward. The only sound was the faint spill of water crossing the marble and my own breathing near the microphone.
Madison's eyes lowered to the phone once more. She was still close enough to reach it if Ethan stepped away.
He did not.
I climbed one stair, then another, keeping my back near the railing. I did not drop the phone. I did not look away from Madison's hands.
Below me, Ethan remained between her and Clara. Behind me, the staircase offered the only clear direction left.
Madison stopped at its foot.
May you like
Her face turned toward the stairs, and the phone caught the movement. For the first time, I understood that blocking her from me had not ended the danger. It had only forced her to choose another path.
The screen continued recording as she looked upward.
