I called Simone on Sunday evening.
She told me to preserve the documents and avoid making accusations I could not yet support.
Then she said she had received a message from the police technician.
The memory card was readable.
He had found recordings of my living room.
But the oldest file was dated two weeks before Patricia’s supposed inspection.
Someone had been inside my home much earlier than I knew.
Chapter 9: The Second Camera
I did not sleep after Simone’s call.
At dawn, I began checking the house for anything that did not belong.
I examined the smoke detectors, lamps, bookshelves, and the charging station beside my desk.
I found nothing until I reached the hallway.
A small decorative air freshener had been attached to the wall near the guest bathroom.
I did not remember buying it.
It had a white plastic shell and a narrow opening on the front.
I left it untouched and called Officer Ruiz.
She arrived with a technician who photographed the device before removing it.
Inside was another camera.
This one faced the hallway and the door to my home office.
The technician said it appeared to have its own power supply and wireless transmitter.
I felt sick as I watched him place it in an evidence bag.
Ruiz asked whether I wanted to stay with family or friends while they checked the rest of the property.
I said I would stay with Aaron and Jenna if they agreed.
Aaron opened his door before I reached the porch.
He had been watching the police cars through the window.
When I told him about the second camera, his face hardened.
He said Jenna had found something else in the doorbell footage.
He led me to the kitchen and opened the laptop.
A recording from three weeks earlier showed a woman walking toward my house while I was at work.
She wore a navy jacket and carried a canvas tote.
The camera caught her face when she turned toward the street.
It was Elise Voss, Patricia’s daughter.
She looked directly at Aaron’s doorbell camera.
Then she lifted her phone, made a call, and waited beside my front door.
Less than a minute later, the door opened from the inside.
A man stepped into view.
He was wearing my company’s blue work jacket.
I recognized him immediately.
His name was Owen Price.
He had been my most trusted employee for seven years.
Chapter 10: The Call Owen Would Not Answer
I called Owen three times that afternoon.
He did not answer.
I left one message asking him to contact me immediately about a serious matter involving the office.
