Once the patio was completely empty again, Elena pulled the small black memory drive out from the recording rack and tucked it safely into the inner pocket of her sweater. She reattached the metal cover as neatly as possible, locked the utility room door, and replaced the key behind the brick. Now she had the truth in her pocket, but simply running away with the drive was not enough. She needed Julian to see the video with his own eyes before Margarethe could convince him to destroy her life legally.
Elena knew that Julian stayed up late every night in his home office working on his laptop. The home office had large floor-to-ceiling glass windows that opened directly onto the side garden. If she could get his attention through the window without alerting Margarethe, she might have one final chance to make him look at the evidence.
She moved silently through the dark garden, crouching beneath the rose bushes until she reached the illuminated glass window of Julian's office. Inside, Julian was sitting at his large mahogany desk, his face buried in his hands. He looked completely broken, exhausted, and weighed down by grief and confusion. On his desk sat a framed photo of little Leo.
Elena reached up with a trembling hand and tapped gently on the glass window pane. Three soft knocks echoed into the quiet room. Julian raised his head quickly, his eyes narrowing in surprise. He saw Elena standing outside in the dim garden light, holding up the small black memory drive in her hand.
Julian's face flushed with immediate anger. He stood up from his leather chair, walked over to the glass door, and unlocked it, sliding it open just enough to speak in a harsh, angry whisper.
Julian: Are you out of your mind? I told you to leave my property! If I call the guards right now, you will be in jail in five minutes!
Elena: Mr. Vance, please, I beg you on my life! Give me just two minutes! Look at this memory drive! It has the raw footage from the camera hidden inside the hedge wall!
Julian: I don't want to see your tricks, Elena! Margarethe saw what you did!
Elena: Margarethe lied to you! Put this card into your computer right now. If it shows me pushing the stroller, you can call the police immediately and I will surrender without saying another word. But if it shows the truth, you will save your son from a terrible woman!
Julian looked at Elena's eyes. There was no fear of guilt in her expression—only pure, raw honesty and desperate concern for his baby boy. A flicker of doubt crossed Julian's mind for the very first time. He looked down at the small black drive in her calloused, work-worn hand, then looked back toward the hallway of his quiet house.
Julian: Hand it to me. Step back against the wall and do not move.
Elena handed the drive over without hesitation and stepped back onto the lawn. Julian walked back to his desk, plugged the storage drive into his laptop, and opened the video file directory. He selected the outdoor pool camera angle from earlier that afternoon, fast-forwarding to the exact timestamp of the incident.
The video played in crystal-clear high definition on his large screen. Julian's eyes widened in complete horror as he watched the truth unfold before him. On the video, he saw Margarethe standing by the stroller, looking around carefully to make sure no one was watching. He saw her place her hand on the handle and give the stroller a deliberate, strong shove straight toward the deep water. He saw Elena running from the cabana, diving into the pool fully clothed, and pulling his struggling baby out from the bottom.
Julian's hands began to shake violently. The color completely drained from his face as the heavy reality of what he had done crashed down upon his shoulders like a mountain. He had struck the innocent woman who had saved his only child, while protecting the monster who had tried to kill him.