Chapter 4 - Why Ryan Hid The Device
The hidden device in the potted plant had not been placed there by accident.
Ryan put it there himself three weeks before that afternoon.
He had not done it out of paranoia.
He had done it because too many small things stopped making sense.
Emma flinched when Diane entered the room.
Lily cried harder whenever Diane picked her up.
Emma’s meals often went untouched, yet Diane insisted she was “eating constantly.”
A housekeeper once stopped Ryan in the hallway, pale and nervous, then changed her mind and muttered, “Never mind, sir,” before walking away.
And there had been the phone call.
Ryan would never forget that call.
He had phoned Emma from Boston late one evening. Diane answered instead of Emma and said she was asleep. In the background he heard Lily crying—and a sound like someone stifling sobs.
The next morning Emma told him she had just been tired.
But she did not sound tired.
She sounded careful.
That was the first moment Ryan felt true fear.
He knew his mother could be harsh. He had known it all his life. Diane was proud, controlling, obsessed with appearances, and ruthless when challenged. But until then, some childish part of him still believed there were lines she would never cross.
He began testing what happened when he left.
He asked resort security to install an “updated environmental monitor” in the suite, supposedly to track noise, temperature, and emergency response alerts because Emma and the baby spent so much time there alone.
In reality, it was a discreet high-resolution camera with live remote access and sound capture.
He hid it inside the potted plant himself.
Then he said nothing.
May you like
He wanted proof before he accused anyone.
He had no idea how much he was about to get.
