Chapter 4 - The Digital Vault
The folder opened instantly, revealing dozens of nested subdirectories, each dated and meticulously organized by year, month, and day.
Amanda’s eyes scanned the file names, her breath hitching in her throat.
*Subject_01_Behavioral_Baseline.mp4*
*Subject_02_Sensory_Deprivation_Trial.mp4*
*Subject_03_Isolation_Response_Data.mp4*
Her hands shook so violently she could barely hold the mouse. What was Project Vanguard? What did behavioral baselines and sensory deprivation have to do with her home? With her family?
She clicked on the most recent file dated just two days ago.
A video player popped up on the screen, loading a high-definition, wide-angle interior feed of the exact hallway outside Leo’s bedroom.
Amanda watched in stunned, horrified silence as the video began to play. The timestamp showed 2:14 AM.
The hallway was pitch black except for the amber glow of the baseboard nightlights. The door to Leo’s bedroom slowly cracked open. A figure stepped out into the corridor—tall, wearing a dark silk robe.
Richard.
On the screen, Richard walked silently into Leo’s room. A few seconds later, he emerged carrying a small, blanket-wrapped bundle that was clearly a sleeping Leo. Richard didn't rush. He walked with chilling, deliberate calmness down the hallway, past the kitchen, and straight toward the utility room.
Amanda covered her mouth with her hand, a strangled sob escaping her throat as she watched the footage of her husband opening the washing machine, placing their son inside the dry, dark drum, and casually clicking the heavy latch shut.
He hadn't turned the machine on. He hadn't hurt him physically.
He had simply locked him inside.
Why? What kind of monster conducts psychological stress trials on his own twenty-month-old toddler in the middle of the night?
She scrolled down frantically through the directory, opening a separate text document titled: Hypothesis_Notes_Dr_R_Sterling.docx.
The clinical detachment of the text made her stomach churn:
*“Observation: Subject exhibits heightened cortisol spikes and acute auditory sensitivity under controlled spatial restriction. Baseline emotional resilience testing indicates optimal parameters for stress-adaptation modeling. Trial 14 demonstrates immediate vocalization triggers (‘Mama’) followed by rapid autonomic withdrawal. Proceeding to secondary auditory isolation phase.”*
He wasn't just abusing their son. He was using him as an experimental subject.
A sudden, sharp beep echoed from the hallway outside the study.
Amanda froze.
The biometric panel at the front door had just clicked open.
May you like
Richard was home early.
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