Chapter 2 - The Archives of Betrayal
I instructed the security chief to pull up the archives from the last month.
I needed to see the history of this deception,
to understand how deep the rot had spread.
The screen flickered as the hard drive whirred to life,
bringing up weeks of footage I had never cared to check.
I saw myself in the videos,
walking through the halls with a smile,
clueless and arrogant.
I saw Patricia following me,
always a step behind,
playing the role of the devoted partner.
But as soon as the front door closed behind me,
the transformation began.
In one clip from two weeks ago,
I watched Patricia deliberately spill red wine on a white rug.
She didn't clean it up.
Instead,
she waited for Rosa to enter the room.
I saw the way she pointed at the stain,
her mouth moving in what I could only assume were insults.
Rosa grabbed a cloth and got on her knees,
scrubbing while Patricia stood over her,
occasionally kicking the bucket of water.
The cruelty was casual,
almost effortless.
In another video,
I saw Patricia taking Daniela’s diary from her room.
She sat on the sofa,
laughing as she read the private thoughts of a young girl.
When Daniela walked in and saw her,
she tried to grab it back.
Patricia pushed her away with such force that Daniela hit the coffee table.
I saw my daughter cry,
not from the pain of the fall,
but from the violation of her privacy.
I felt a hot,
searing anger bubbling in my chest.
Every clip was a new piece of evidence,
a new reason to hate myself for being so blind.
I watched Patricia whisper into my ear in the hallway,
pointing toward the kitchen where Rosa was working.
I remembered that moment;
she had told me Rosa was drinking on the job.
I looked at the kitchen feed from the same time.
Rosa was simply making tea for the girls,
her movements steady and sober.
The gaslighting was masterful,
a web of lies woven so tightly I couldn't see the light.
I saw Patricia go into my office when I wasn't home.
She went through my drawers,
looking at bank statements and legal documents.
She wasn't just after my heart;
she was after my empire.
She was calculating the cost of my life,
waiting for the right moment to seize it all.
I saw her pick up a gold watch of mine,
one my father had given me.
She tucked it into a hidden pocket of Rosa’s coat,
which was hanging by the back door.
My breath hitched in my throat.
She wasn't just being mean;
she was framing a woman for a crime that could ruin her life.
I realized then that Patricia didn't just want Rosa gone;
she wanted her destroyed.
She wanted to isolate me,
to make herself the only person I could rely on.
The screen showed the girls sitting in their room,
whispering to each other in the dark.
They were talking about me,
I could tell by the way they looked at my photo on the nightstand.
They looked like they wanted to tell me something,
but the fear in their eyes was a barrier they couldn't cross.
They didn't trust me to believe them over her.
That realization hurt more than any physical blow.
I had failed the most basic duty of a father.
I had made my home a prison for the people I loved most.
I watched hours of footage,
each minute adding to the mountain of evidence.
I saw the way Patricia treated the other staff,
the gardeners,
the drivers.
She was a tyrant in silk clothing.
The security chief looked at me,
his expression grim and filled with pity.
"Do you want to see more,
sir?"
he asked quietly.
"I want to see everything,"
I replied,
my voice a cold rasp.
"I want every lie,
every shove,
every stolen moment recorded."
I was no longer just a father or a businessman.
I was a hunter,
and the prey was inside my own house.
The night was long,
but my resolve was hardening like steel.
I would not sleep until I had the keys to her downfall.
I watched as the sun began to rise on the monitor,
casting long shadows across the lawn.
May you like
The stage was set for the next day,
and I was ready to play my part.
