Chapter 103: Restoring the Lost Footages

Michael’s POV

I opened the article.

Beneath the report was the official statement released by the Hugo family.

---

OFFICIAL STATEMENT FROM THE HUGO FAMILY

The Hugo family is deeply saddened to announce the passing of Vera Hugo.

Vera was a cherished member of our family, and her sudden passing has left us devastated. She was a beloved daughter, granddaughter, sister, cousin, and friend, and her absence will be deeply felt by everyone who knew and loved her.

At this difficult time, our family asks the public and the media to respect our privacy as we mourn her loss and support one another.

Further details regarding funeral arrangements will be shared with family, friends, and the public at the appropriate time.

We thank everyone who has reached out with their condolences and ask that our family be allowed the privacy and dignity to grieve.

— The Hugo Family

---

I read the statement once, then again. It said exactly what it needed to say and nothing more.

There was no mention of the investigation, of Lawrence, or of the circumstances surrounding Vera’s death.

The Hugo family had closed the door before the public had even had the opportunity to open it.

I reached the kitchen and set my phone on the counter.

Ivana Hugo. She was good at her job.

Before I could proceed to make my morning coffee, my phone’s screen lit up with an incoming call from one of my men I had sent to the Hamptons.

I picked up my phone and answered. "Talk to me."

"Alpha, we have completed the initial sweep of the property."

I moved away from the kitchen counter and leaned against it. "What did you find?"

"We were careful not to disturb anything the police had already documented. However, the security system requires closer attention. It was not simply compromised remotely. Someone physically interfered with the equipment."

My expression hardened. "Are you certain?"

"Yes. We examined the system thoroughly. Whoever tampered with it had direct access to the equipment and knew what they were doing."

"How much of the footage was affected?"

"More than the police initially realised. The missing recordings begin earlier in the evening than the period immediately surrounding Vera Hugo’s death."

That confirmed what Detective Miller had told the family.

Someone had not merely tried to erase the circumstances of Vera’s death. Whoever had interfered with the system had gone further back into the evening.

"What were you able to recover from the remaining footage?"

"We found a fragment from one of the cameras that had not been completely damaged."

"What does it show?"

He hesitated for a second before speaking. "It is difficult to make out because the recording is poor, but there is something unusual in it. A figure appears briefly near the property shortly before the footage was compromised."

"Send it to me."

"I already have."

My phone vibrated as the file arrived. I opened it and studied the footage.

The footage was dark and grainy, but the property’s outline remained visible. For an instant, something moved along the edge of the frame.

Whatever it was, it wasn’t human.

Its distorted shape had proportions too unnatural to blame on the poor recording. It vanished almost at once, but the glimpse was enough.

A shapeshifter.

I watched the fragment again before asking, "Did the police recover this portion?"

"No, Alpha. They did not appear to have it."

"Keep it secure."

"Yes, Alpha."

"What else did you find?"

"There is another matter." His voice had become more serious. "We detected a scent inside the property."

I waited for him to continue.

"It has faded considerably, but it is still present in several areas. We have confirmed what it belongs to."

I already knew the answer before he said it.

"It is the scent of a shapeshifter."

I straightened. "Where did you detect it?"

"Near the damaged security equipment and in two areas leading toward the private section of the house. We checked the surrounding rooms as well, and the traces are consistent."

"Could it be an old scent?"

"We considered that possibility. It does not appear to be. The traces are too concentrated, and their distribution suggests that the creature was there around the time of the incident."

I looked at the recording still displayed on my phone. The shadow had lasted less than two seconds.

The security system had been deliberately tampered with. Now there was a confirmed shapeshifter scent inside the property.

The evidence was beginning to form a pattern.

"Did you find anything that could identify the shapeshifter?"

"Nothing conclusive yet."

"Then keep looking. I want every part of the property examined, including the areas the police have already searched. Do not interfere with their evidence or remove anything that may still be useful to their investigation."

"Understood."

"Also, find out exactly when the CCTV interference began. I want the timeline reconstructed from the earliest missing recording until the moment Vera was found."

"We will."

"There is one more thing. I want you to determine whether anyone else entered or left the property during that period."

"We will check the access points and the surrounding area."

"Good. Do not rush this. I would rather receive a complete report later than an incomplete one now."

"Yes, Alpha."

I ended the call and let out a deep breath, pondering over what I had just learnt.

The evidence from the vacation home was enough to confirm that a shapeshifter had been there.

The scent my men had detected was unmistakable, and the surviving CCTV footage had captured something that no human could have produced.

What I still did not know was what had happened between the creature entering the property and Vera’s death.

My men could continue working through the damaged recordings, but there was a more efficient way to find out.

I was one of the seven Primogens. I had abilities my men didn’t, and restoring damaged information was one of them.

If the recordings hadn’t been completely overwritten, I should be able to recover what they had deliberately removed.

I checked the time. I was supposed to leave for Los Angeles today, but I could afford a detour to the Hamptons before I left.

I wanted to see the property myself and, more importantly, examine the original system before anyone else altered it further.

I called back the wolf in charge of the team. He answered immediately.

"Alpha."

"Leave the property."

There was a short pause, then he asked, "You want us to withdraw?"

"Yes. Return to Boston and preserve everything you have already recovered. Do not share the footage or the findings with anyone outside the team."

"Understood."

"I will take over from here."

"Yes, Alpha."

I ended the call and went to my bedroom to change.

---

By the time I reached the Hamptons, my men had already withdrawn. The police had maintained the perimeter around the vacation home, and there were still officers watching the property.

I kept my distance from the main entrance and entered without attracting their attention.

Inside, the house was quiet.

The police had done a thorough job of preserving the scene, and I could see where the investigators had examined the rooms.

I did not touch anything that might still be relevant to their investigation. My interest was confined to the security system and whatever information had been deliberately removed from it.

I found the CCTV equipment where my men had reported it.

The damage was deliberate. Several components had been tampered with, and portions of the recordings had been destroyed rather than merely disconnected.

I placed my hand against the system.

I let my power move through it gradually, searching for what remained beneath the damage.

After several moments, the system responded. The destroyed footage began to reconstruct itself.

The first images were unstable, appearing and disappearing before settling into something I could follow.

I watched the evening unfold.

Vera was in her bedroom. She had a headset over her ears and appeared completely absorbed in whatever she was doing. She had no reason to suspect that anything was happening elsewhere in the house.

The recording shifted to another camera. Something entered the property.

I focused on the screen.

The creature was difficult to describe because its appearance had nothing natural about it.

Its body carried the general shape of a human being, but its proportions were wrong, its limbs unnaturally formed, and its features were distorted into something that would have looked monstrous to any ordinary person.

It moved through the house with purpose.

I watched the creature turn into another corridor before the footage shifted again.

Vera eventually stepped out of her bedroom. She stopped when she saw it.

Even without hearing her, I could see what happened to her expression. She was terrified.

She immediately tried to hide. It was the sensible thing to do. Unfortunately, the creature had already noticed her.

It turned toward the place where she had disappeared.

The footage changed again.

Lawrence came into view. He was screaming and seemed glued to the spot as the shapeshifter moved toward him.

I watched as the creature reached him and disappeared into his body.