David unlocked the dark security room with his master key.
The green lights of the computer hard drives blinked quietly.
He sat down in the leather chair before three screens.
He typed his personal password into the main system.
He pulled up the outdoor pool camera logs for tonight.
David: Let's see what the lenses captured at nine PM.
He clicked on the primary camera folder for the pool deck.
The screen displayed a strange yellow error box.
The video clip from eight PM to ten PM was missing.
The system marked the missing two hours as corrupted file.
His stomach dropped with a sudden wave of ice.
David: This security system cost fifty thousand dollars.
David: Files do not corrupt themselves without human help.
He brought up the user access log on the left screen.
Someone had logged into the system at seven forty PM.
The admin passkey belonged to his own master account.
Only three people knew where that passkey was hidden.
He kept it inside his desk drawer in the home office.
David: Victoria had access to my desk all afternoon.
He stood up slowly from the rolling computer chair.
He felt a sharp pain of betrayal in his chest.
He walked down the narrow basement corridor to Elena's room.
He knocked gently on the plain wooden door panel.
A small quiet voice answered from inside the room.
Elena: Who is there, please?
David: It is David. Please open the door, Elena.
The door pulled open slowly after a few seconds.
Elena stood in a dry grey sweatpants and shirt.
Her eyes were red and swollen from hours of crying.
Her wet uniform hung over the back of a chair.
Elena: Have you come to fire me, sir?
David: No, Elena. I came to ask for truth.
David: The pool security video was deleted tonight.
Elena gasped softly and covered her mouth with both hands.
Elena: I did not delete anything, Mr. Vance.
Elena: I don't even know where the computer room is.
David: I know you don't. Sit down with me.
David sat on the small wooden chair near her bed.
David: Tell me every detail from the start.
Elena: Miss Victoria called me to the pool at nine.
Elena: She said you wanted the baby outside right away.
Elena: When I pushed the stroller out, she blocked me.
Elena: She pushed the stroller hard toward the deep end!
David felt his hands turn into tight trembling fists.
David: Why would she ever do such a cruel thing?
Elena: Because she wanted to play the brave hero, sir.