Chapter 236

Henry adjusted the bedside lamp, casting a brighter glow across the mysterious box.

Inside lay two items - a blank CD and a single sheet of paper covered in cryptic writing.

Lily unfolded the paper carefully, her small fingers tracing the unfamiliar symbols. Her forehead wrinkled in concentration before she turned to her brother. "Henry, what does this say? It looks like secret code!"

Henry studied the document briefly before shrugging. "Beats me. It's all technical mumbo-jumbo."

The page might as well have been written in ancient hieroglyphics for all the sense it made to the four-year-olds.

Lily's attention shifted to the unmarked CD, turning it over in her hands. "There's nothing on it! No pictures, no words... nothing!"

Henry's curiosity burned just as brightly. Without a computer, the disc's contents remained a frustrating mystery.

"We need Uncle Dominic's laptop!" Lily declared suddenly, her eyes lighting up with excitement. "I'll go ask him! You stay here - Mommy gets mad when you use electronics without permission!"

Before Henry could protest, his sister was already dashing toward the door. Concerned she might drop the heavy device, he hurried after her.

Dominic wasn't at his usual bar haunt that evening - the bruises from yesterday's altercation made socializing impossible. When the twins burst into his room, he was immersed in an intense video game battle.

"Shouldn't you two be asleep?" Dominic barely glanced up from his screen, fingers flying across the keyboard.

The children ignored his question, their focus locked on the glowing laptop.

"Uncle Dom, can we borrow your computer? Just for a tiny minute?" Lily deployed her most charming smile.

Henry wasted no time once they got access. He fast-forwarded through the video, his small face growing serious as images flashed by.

"It's a funeral," he announced abruptly, shutting the laptop with finality. "Really scary stuff. You don't want to see it."

Lily's lower lip jutted out. "You're not tricking me, are you?"

"Would I lie about something like that?" Henry hugged the laptop protectively. "Somebody died. No idea who."

As Henry left to return the computer, Lily carefully replaced both items in the box, her young mind swirling with unanswered questions about the mysterious recording.