Chapter 6: The Photograph No One Was Supposed to Take
The first sign that something was wrong came on a Tuesday morning.
Daniel was halfway through a meeting with his executive team when his phone vibrated twice in quick succession.
Only three people were allowed to bypass his "Do Not Disturb" setting.
Caris.
His chief of security.
Detective Michael Owens.
The message came from Elena Brooks.
Call me immediately.
Daniel excused himself and stepped into the hallway.
"What's happened?"
"We may have a surveillance problem."
His expression hardened.
"Explain."
"Our security team reviewed camera footage from your apartment building after Detective Owens requested additional recordings."
"And?"
"There was the same gray sedan parked across the street four different days."
Daniel remained silent.
"It wasn't there by coincidence."
"You confirmed that?"
"The driver never entered a business. Never met anyone. Never left the vehicle for more than two minutes."
Elena took a breath.
"And every time Mrs. Russo left the building... the sedan followed."
Daniel looked through the conference room glass toward the Manhattan skyline.
"Notify Detective Owens."
"Already done."
"I'm coming back."
Across town, Caris stood inside the nursery.
It had once been Daniel's home office.
Now fresh white paint covered the walls.
Two unopened boxes sat beside the window.
One contained a crib.
The other held a rocking chair.
She smiled despite herself.
Only eight weeks pregnant, and Daniel had already started reading parenting books.
The bookshelf beside the window held titles like The First Year, Safe Sleep, and New Dad's Guide.
He had highlighted passages.
Made notes.
Even bookmarked chapters.
Caris laughed softly.
"You've already become a father."
Her phone rang.
Unknown number.
She ignored it.
It rang again.
Then a third time.
Something about the persistence unsettled her.
She answered carefully.
"Hello?"
Silence.
Only breathing.
Then...
A click.
The call disconnected.
Detective Owens arrived an hour later.
He spread several photographs across Daniel's dining table.
"They were recovered from a storage locker rented under a false name."
Caris looked down.
Her stomach tightened.
Every photograph showed her.
Walking to her doctor's appointment.
Leaving the grocery store.
Reading on a park bench.
Standing on her apartment balcony.
One picture captured her holding the ultrasound photograph against the café window just moments before Liam had appeared.
"He was there before I noticed him."
Owens nodded.
"We believe so."
Daniel picked up another photograph.
The timestamp showed it had been taken nearly two weeks earlier.
"This started before the assault."
"Yes."
Caris suddenly felt cold.
"He knew."
"Knew what?"
"I was trying to have a baby."
The detective looked at her.
"He'd been watching me long enough to know my routine."
No one spoke.
For the first time since returning home from the hospital, fear entered the apartment.
Not loud.
Not dramatic.
Quiet.
Persistent.
Like a draft through a closed window.
Daniel noticed it immediately.
That evening he found Caris standing beside the nursery window with the curtains drawn.
"You've looked outside six times."
"I know."
"You don't have to."
"What if he's there?"
Daniel walked over and gently took her hands.
"If he's there..."
He paused.
"...the police will deal with him."
She searched his face.
"You really believe that?"
"I believe evidence."
He nodded toward the photographs.
"And now we have plenty."
The next morning brought unexpected news.
Detective Owens called before breakfast.
"We executed a search warrant."
Daniel set down his coffee.
"What did you find?"
"Liam's apartment."
"And?"
"Maps."
"Maps?"
"Marked with locations."
Daniel felt his pulse quicken.
"Caris's doctor's office."
"The café."
"Your apartment."
"Your office."
"The park where you two walk."
Caris closed her eyes.
"He planned all of it."
"We believe he was studying routines."
Owens hesitated.
"There was something else."
"What?"
"We found a notebook."
That afternoon they met at the precinct.
The notebook sat inside an evidence bag.
Owens opened it carefully.
Most pages contained dates.
Addresses.
Times.
Observations.
Then one page stopped everyone.
Written across the top:
Things She Loves
Below it were handwritten notes.
Honey in tea.
Blue hydrangeas.
Rain on the balcony.
Children.
Always smiles at dogs.
Caris covered her mouth.
"I never told him half of those."
Owens looked up.
"He didn't need you to."
"He watched."
As they left the station, Daniel stopped on the courthouse steps.
The afternoon sun warmed the stone beneath their feet.
Caris slipped her hand into his.
"I hate this."
"I know."
"I feel like he's stolen every ordinary moment."
Daniel looked toward the busy street.
Parents hurried past pushing strollers.
Office workers laughed over lunch.
A little girl chased bubbles floating through the air.
"He doesn't get to keep them."
Caris looked at him.
"Our ordinary moments?"
Daniel smiled gently.
"No."
He rested a hand over hers.
"We're taking them back."
For the first time in days...
She believed him.
That evening, Detective Owens received a forensic lab report.
He read it once.
Then again.
Immediately he picked up the phone.
"Daniel?"
"What is it?"
"We recovered fingerprints from the camera used to take the surveillance photos."
"Liam's?"
"No."
May you like
A long pause.
"There was someone else with him."
