I could not pretend it was coincidence anymore.
I asked Elena whether she had spoken to Patricia.
Elena stared at me as though I had accused her of betrayal.
“I barely know that woman,” she said.
“Why would you even ask me that?”
I apologized immediately, but the damage had already started.
Someone had planted a question between us that neither of us deserved.
Chapter 4: A Device Without a Name
The evening I found the camera began with a router notification.
My internet provider had updated its security dashboard, and a new device appeared on my home network.
The label was a string of letters I did not recognize.
I had connected a smart thermostat and two speakers myself, so I knew the rest of the list.
The unknown device showed activity during the hours when I was home.
I checked the garage, the hallway, and the office before entering the living room.
A faint reflection caught my attention near the mantel clock.
It looked like a bead of water trapped between the clock’s wooden back and the shelf.
I crouched carefully, mindful of my knee, and moved the clock forward.
There was the lens.
I did not need to understand the technology to know that it did not belong in my home.
I photographed the shelf from several angles before touching anything.
Then I took a video showing the clock, the lens, and the view toward the couch.
I disconnected the small battery unit, leaving its adhesive bracket intact.
I placed the clock in a clean cardboard box.
The camera lay on a separate white towel so I could photograph its markings.
My instinct was to smash the thing against the floor.
Instead, I called Daniel and told him to stay on the line.
Daniel worked in machinery maintenance and had no reason to know how surveillance devices operated.
He did know how to remain calm around damaged equipment.
“Don’t wipe anything, and don’t press random buttons,” he said.
“Call the police, then call a lawyer.”
I had barely hung up when my phone rang.
Patricia’s name filled the screen.
I let it go to voicemail.
Her message lasted eleven seconds.
“Marcus, I need to stop by about something important, and you should not disconnect any more devices.”
I replayed the message twice.
I had not told a single person outside my family that I had discovered the camera.
The pounding began before I could call her back.
