The blue mat.
A small portion of the kitchen passage.
Then he noticed multiple barking alerts from the previous evening.
He opened one.
The recording showed Biscuit moving repeatedly toward the hallway.
A child's voice could be heard faintly off camera.
"Please, Vanessa."
Daniel sat straighter.
The clip ended.
He opened another.
Amelia appeared briefly near the feeding area.
Her eyes were red.
She looked toward the pantry.
Then Vanessa entered.
The sound was partially obscured, but Daniel heard enough to recognize the anger in his wife's voice.
"Get upstairs."
Amelia disappeared.
Biscuit followed.
Daniel stared at the screen.
He played the clip again.
Then another.
In one recording, Vanessa kicked the dog's empty bowl aside while complaining that the animal and the child were making a mess.
Daniel felt his stomach tighten.
None of the clips showed the full picture.
But he knew Amelia.
He recognized fear in the way she moved.
He remembered how she held on when he left.
The rehearsed smiles.
The questions about calling him.
And the sudden quietness that had seemed so unlike her.
He looked at the flight information on the screen ahead.
Then closed his eyes.
"Please be okay, sweetheart."
By the time he landed, he had stopped thinking about the business meetings entirely.
He collected his suitcase.
Called a car.
And watched the evening traffic through the window while repeatedly checking the pet camera.
At 5:34 p.m., the app notified him of motion near the feeding station.
He opened the live view.
At first, he saw only Biscuit.
The dog was standing near the kitchen doorway.
His ears were raised.
Then Vanessa's voice entered the recording.
"Come here."
A moment later, Amelia appeared.
Vanessa gripped her arm.
Daniel sat forward.
The image shook slightly as he moved his phone.
He watched his daughter stumble toward the dog's feeding mat.
He heard her plead for food.
Then Vanessa pushed the bowl toward her.
Daniel's entire body went cold.
He told the driver to continue directly to the house, then used the app's recording function to preserve what he had seen.
His hands trembled.
He could barely breathe.
He wanted to call Vanessa.
Shout.
Demand that she stop.
But the car was almost home, and he feared an angry confrontation over the phone would leave Amelia alone with her.
He focused on reaching the house and getting his daughter to safety.
At 5:42 p.m., Daniel opened the front door.
And the scene he had watched through the small camera became far worse when he saw it with his own eyes.