Chapter 6 - Caught in the Act
While I was sitting on the sunlit terrace in Del Mar sipping tea with Brandon’s former boss, my phone vibrated in my purse.
It was a silent motion alert from the Ring security application on my personal device.
Two months before the wedding, Brandon had asked me to install a discreet security camera inside our shared bedroom at his mother’s house because he claimed neighborhood teenagers had been breaking into cars along the block. I had purchased a high-definition, wide-angle camera disguised as an ordinary digital alarm clock and set it on the nightstand facing the walk-in closet and the antique armoire where I kept my personal valuables.
Brandon had forgotten the camera even existed.
I unlocked the screen and tapped the live feed.
The feed connected instantly in crisp 1080p color with two-way audio.
On the screen, the master bedroom door swung open.
Rosalind walked in first, holding a small brass crowbar and a pair of heavy household pliers. Behind her was Hannah, chewing gum, holding a large empty canvas tote bag. Brandon came in last, looking like a manic ghost. He was still holding his cardboard box of personal belongings from the office—the unmistakable box of an employee who had just been escorted off the premises by building security.
*“Hurry up!”* Brandon’s voice came through my phone’s speaker, sharp with panic. *“Walter fired me! The security guards walked me to the curb like a common criminal! If Charlotte finds out before we get the cash, she’ll lock every door she has!”*
*“Calm down, Brandon!”* Rosalind snapped, her voice shrill and commanding. *“I told you she was bad blood the moment you brought her home! A woman who disrespects her elders is capable of anything! Where is her jewelry box?”*
*“In the lower cabinet of the armoire,”* Hannah said, pointing with a red-tipped finger. *“She keeps her passport, her family documents, and that velvet box with the gold coins in the locked fireproof safe under her shoe rack.”*
*“Get the crowbar under the latch,”* Brandon ordered, his face twisted in desperate greed. *“Pry it open. The coins are worth at least ten thousand at the pawn shop on El Cajon Boulevard. We take the gold, we cash it before five, and we pay the minimum monthly interest to Apex Capital before they initiate foreclosure proceedings on the house!”*
*“What about her clothes?”* Hannah asked, browsing through my closet. *“She has two designer bags in here. Those are worth three grand each online.”*
*“Take them all!”* Rosalind ordered without a second thought. *“Everything in this room belongs to this household now! She brought shame on our family, she cost my son his career, and she will pay for every single penny of it!”*
I sat at the Del Mar cafe table, watching my mother-in-law, my sister-in-law, and my husband of two days actively commit felony grand larceny and home burglary on a live, cloud-recorded video feed.
I didn't panic. I didn't yell.
I quietly tapped the screen, clicked *Save to Cloud Storage*, and downloaded the live stream file directly to my private Google Drive and an external encrypted server.
Then, I looked across the table at Evelyn and Walter Vance.
“Mr. Vance, Evelyn,” I said, setting my phone face-up on the white linen tablecloth so they could see the three figures battering the hinges of my fireproof safe with a crowbar. “Would you excuse me for about thirty minutes? I have an appointment with the San Diego Police Department.”
Walter looked at the screen. His eyes hardened like granite.
May you like
“Evelyn,” Walter said without missing a beat, pulling his cell phone from his pocket. “Call Chief Martinez. Tell him Walter Vance needs a squad dispatched to an active felony burglary in Clairemont Mesa immediately.”
***
