11/05/2025
I noticed my husband secretly sneaking into our daughter's room every night. Fearing the worst, I installed a hidden camera. What I watched on the footage made me tremble â his silent devotion left me sobbing.
Like clockwork, around midnight, I would feel the subtle shift in our mattress as Evan quietly slipped out of our bed. The first time, I assumed it was the bathroom. The second, I grew curious. The third time, a seed of unease began to sprout.
One night, I woke up thirsty. The house was shrouded in deep, pre-dawn silence. I walked to the kitchen, and as I passed the living room, I noticed the couch was empty. The blanket was still folded. He had lied. He wasn't there.
My heart began to beat a frantic, heavy rhythm. I crept down the hallway toward Emmaâs room. Her door was ajar, a sliver of soft, orange nightlight glowing through the gap. I peered inside.
He was in her bed. He was lying next to her, on top of the covers, his arm gently draped around her small shoulders. Her back was nestled against his chest. They were both still.
I froze, a thousand terrible, unspeakable thoughts crashing through my mind. The promise I made to herâI will protect youâscreamed in my head.
âWhat are you doing?â I whispered, my voice sharp and venomous. âWhy are you sleeping in here?â
He looked up, startled. âShhh,â he whispered. âShe was crying out in her sleep again. I came in to comfort her and must have drifted off.â
It sounded reasonable. But something deep inside me, a primal, maternal instinct, wouldnât rest. It was a heavy, suffocating feeling.
The next day, I bought a small, discreet security camera, the kind people use to watch their pets. My hands trembled as I paid for it, a hot flush of shame crawling up my neck.
I installed it on her bookshelf, hidden between a stuffed giraffe and a stack of fairy tale books. It had a perfect, unobstructed view of her bed.
That night, I lay in bed next to Evan, my body rigid. After he fell asleep, I slipped out of bed, my phone clutched in my hand like a weapon. I went to the living room, sat on the cold, empty couch where he claimed to sleep, and turned on the live feed. For hours, I watched my daughter sleep. Then, at around 2 a.m., it happened.
Emma sat bolt upright in her bed. Her eyes were wide open, but they were blank, glassy, seeing nothing. My breath caught in my throat. She swung her legs over the side of the bed and stood up.
She began walking slowly, stiffly, around the room, like a marionette with tangled strings. She walked directly into the wall, bumping her head softly before standing completely, unnervingly still, facing the corner.
A few minutes later, the footage showed her bedroom door creaking open. Evan walked in. Read more in Comment or Most relevant -> All comments đ