Little Sophie Pointed at the Security Monitor After Her Backpack Vanished — Then Her Father Saw Who Had Taken It
Chapter 2 — Thirty-Eight Missing Minutes
Karen glanced toward a door marked STAFF ONLY.
“I don’t have permission to release security footage.”
Ryan pointed toward the monitor.
“I’m not asking you to release it.”
He looked directly at her.
“I’m asking you to play it.”
“Our manager isn’t here.”
“Then call your manager.”
Karen hesitated.
Ryan noticed.
“Why don’t you want me to see that video?”
“I never said that.”
“Then play it.”
A younger employee sitting at the second computer looked uncomfortable.
His name tag said JASON.
Karen turned toward him.
“Don’t.”
Ryan immediately looked at Jason.
Jason froze.
That single word told Ryan something important.
The recording was accessible from the desk.
“Jason,” Ryan said calmly, “my daughter’s property disappeared while she was under this building’s supervision.”
Jason looked at Sophie.
She still hadn’t released the backpack.
Finally, he moved the mouse.
Karen stepped toward him.
“I said wait for management.”
Jason looked at her.
“It’s her bag, Karen.”
He opened the security archive.
Ryan gave him the approximate time.
The hallway appeared on the screen.
There was Sophie’s backpack.
Pink front pocket.
Black shoulder straps.
Sitting exactly beneath Hook 12.
Children passed it.
Parents walked by.
Nobody touched it.
Jason increased the playback speed.
Then Ryan raised his hand.
“Stop.”
Jason paused.
The backpack was there.
He advanced the video ten seconds.
The hallway was empty.
The backpack was gone.
Ryan frowned.
“Go back.”
Jason did.
Backpack.
Ten seconds later.
No backpack.
“That’s impossible,” Jason whispered.
Ryan looked toward Karen.
“So where did it go?”
Karen’s face had gone pale.
“There must be a gap in the recording.”
Jason shook his head.
“There shouldn’t be.”
He checked the timeline.
Then his expression changed.
“Someone deleted forty-seven seconds.”
Ryan stopped breathing for a moment.
“Deleted?”
Jason nodded.
“Manually.”
Ryan gripped Sophie’s backpack.
Someone hadn’t merely taken it.
Someone had tried to erase the moment they did.
