Chapter 4 - THE CAMERA
The next morning, I woke before sunrise.
Lily was still sleeping.
I quietly left the bedroom.
The house was silent.
I walked toward the kitchen.
Then I stopped.
The camera.
The one I had noticed the night before.
It wasn't a normal security camera.
It was pointed directly toward the backyard.
And its lens had been recently replaced.
I opened my phone.
I had already contacted a private investigator in Canada.
His name was Aaron Wells.
I had worked with him once during my accident case.
I sent him one message.
Find everything on Elaine Carter, Marcus Carter, Richard Carter, and Lily's property records. Quietly.
Then I looked at the camera.
If there was footage, it might prove everything.
I followed the cable.
It disappeared into a small office.
The door was locked.
I tried the handle.
Nothing.
Then I heard footsteps.
I stepped away.
Marcus appeared.
“Up early?”
“Couldn't sleep.”
He smiled.
“Millionaires don't sleep?”
“Apparently not.”
He laughed.
Then he noticed the office door.
“What are you doing?”
“Looking around.”
“You should leave that room alone.”
I turned.
“Why?”
“Family business.”
I smiled.
“I'm family.”
“Not everything is your business.”
I stared at him.
He stared back.
Then he smiled.
“Relax, Daniel.”
He walked away.
I waited until he disappeared.
Then I returned to the office.
I took out the small key Lily had given me.
It wasn't for the ledger.
It fit the office door.
I unlocked it.
Inside was a computer.
A monitor.
A printer.
And a filing cabinet.
On the desk sat a stack of documents.
I opened the first.
Property transfer.
Second.
Bank authorization.
Third.
Power of attorney.
My name appeared everywhere.
But the signatures were wrong.
Someone had forged my name.
I photographed everything.
Then I opened the computer.
Password protected.
I was about to leave when I noticed a sticky note beneath the keyboard.
One word:
RICHARD.
I entered it.
The computer unlocked.
Folders filled the screen.
DANIEL
LILY
BANK
PROPERTY
CANADA
My heart pounded.
I clicked CANADA.
Inside were scanned copies of my employment records.
Travel documents.
Insurance correspondence.
Even private emails.
Someone had been monitoring me.
Then I found a file named:
ACCIDENT SETTLEMENT — FINAL
I opened it.
The settlement amount wasn't one million dollars.
It was $1.8 million.
I stared.
My employer had paid me $1.8 million.
Where had the missing $800,000 gone?
I opened the next file.
A bank statement.
There it was.
$800,000 transferred to a company.
Carter Family Investments LLC.
My mother's company.
I whispered:
“They stole it.”
Behind me, the door slammed.
I turned.
Marcus stood there.
He was holding a baseball bat.
“You really should have stayed in Canada.”
I slowly put my phone in my pocket.
“You're threatening me?”
“No.”
He smiled.
“I'm warning you.”
He stepped closer.
“You don't understand what you've walked into.”
“I understand enough.”
“No, Daniel.”
His smile disappeared.
“You don't.”
Then the computer screen suddenly changed.
A video began playing automatically.
It showed Lily.
Three years earlier.
She was standing in the backyard.
Her head had not yet been shaved.
She was crying.
And Marcus was standing in front of her.
He was holding a pair of scissors.
Then my mother's voice came from behind the camera.
“Make sure Daniel never sees her like this.”
The video stopped.
Marcus went completely still.
I looked at him.
Then I smiled.
“Thank you.”
“For what?”
“For proving everything.”
His face changed.
May you like
He realized too late.
My phone had been recording the entire conversation.
