Then I stopped calling because Simone told me not to confront him before the evidence was secured.
Owen had access to my house because I sometimes let him collect project drawings when I was away.
He also knew the alarm code.
I had trusted him with clients, payroll records, and the keys to my workshop.
He had helped carry my father’s clock into the living room after the funeral.
That memory hurt more than I expected.
At five, Owen sent a text saying he was dealing with a family emergency.
He promised to call the next morning.
Simone forwarded the new footage to Officer Ruiz with Aaron’s permission.
Ruiz told us that the investigation would require interviews and additional evidence before anyone could be charged.
She also asked me not to publicize the recordings.
That night I sat at Aaron’s kitchen table while Jenna made grilled cheese sandwiches for their children.
The ordinary noise of the house felt strangely comforting.
Aaron asked what I would do if Owen admitted helping Patricia.
I said I did not know.
I wanted to believe he had a reasonable explanation.
I also knew that reasonable explanations were becoming harder to find.
At eight thirty, a message arrived from an unknown number.
It contained a photograph of a document on my desk.
The document was a confidential cost estimate for the library renovation.
Below the photograph was a short message.
Ask Owen who paid his mother’s hospital bill.
Chapter 11: The Price of Silence
Owen arrived at my attorney’s office the following morning without being invited.
His eyes were red, and he looked as though he had spent the night sitting in his car.
He asked to speak to me alone.
Simone refused.
She told him he could have his own attorney present if he wished.
Owen shook his head and sat down.
He said his mother had suffered a stroke the previous winter.
The rehabilitation center demanded payments his family could not afford.
Elise Voss had approached him at a professional networking event and offered to help.
She claimed she represented a private foundation that assisted families facing medical emergencies.
At first, Owen believed her.
Then she began asking about my firm.
She wanted to know whether I was bidding on the library project and whether I kept project files at home.
Owen admitted he had answered questions he should have refused.
Later, Elise threatened to report the payments as an improper financial benefit unless he helped her enter my house.
He said she had asked him to open the front door while I was away.
He insisted he did not know she intended to install cameras.
