Chapter 3: The Camera That Changed Everything
I went to the garage at six fifteen the next morning.
The house was still dark, and the concrete floor felt cold through my slippers. A faint smell of motor oil lingered near the workbench.
I opened the storage cabinet.
Empty shelves. A tangled extension cord. Two dusty paint cans. Nothing that looked like a black device.
I crouched and checked behind the workbench.
That's when I noticed the loose screw.
The back panel had been removed recently. A thin scratch ran along the metal edge, and a strip of black tape clung to the underside.
I touched it with my fingertip.
Someone had hidden something there.
Someone had taken it out.
I stood and looked toward the garage door.
The security camera's small red indicator blinked above the entrance.
I'd assumed it recorded continuously. In reality, it recorded only when the motion sensor activated, and its angle missed the narrow space behind the workbench.
Whoever had hidden the device knew the camera's limits.
That bothered me more than I wanted to admit.
My phone rang.
Danielle.
“Where are you?”” she asked.
“Garage.””
“Why?””
“Looking for something.””
Silence.
Then she said, “Marcus, I need you to come inside. Kiara wants to talk to us before school.””
“Okay. Give me five minutes.””
“And please don't make this difficult.””
I closed the cabinet.
“I'm not the one making it difficult.””
She hung up.
When I entered the kitchen, Kiara was seated at the island in her school uniform. Danielle stood behind her with a hand resting on her daughter's shoulder.
Kiara's eyes were swollen, as if she'd been crying.
A glass of orange juice sat in front of her.
“Good morning,” I said.
Neither answered.
I sat opposite Kiara.
“I understand you've been feeling uncomfortable around Jordan.””
She nodded.
“Can you tell me what happened?””
Kiara glanced at her mother.
Danielle squeezed her shoulder.
“Tell him what you told me, baby.””
Kiara drew a breath.
“He watches me when I walk through the house. Sometimes I catch him looking through the doorway when I'm in the living room. And last night, I found his phone outside my bedroom.””
“What time?””
“After eleven.””
“Did you see him leave it there?””
“No.””
“Did you see him carrying it?””
“No, but—”
“Did you unlock the phone?””
Kiara's expression shifted.
“I didn't need to.””
“Why not?””
“Because the message was on the screen.””
“What message?””
She looked at Danielle again.
Her mother answered.
“The one we showed you.””
“I'd like to hear it from Kiara.””
Danielle's fingers tightened around the back of the chair.
“Marcus.””
“Please.””
Kiara swallowed.
“It said I knew he was watching me. It said if he came near my room again, I'd tell Mom.””
“Did you send that message?””
“No.””
“Did you receive it?””
She hesitated.
“I don't remember.””
The answer was so unexpected that I leaned back.
“You don't remember receiving the message you're using to accuse Jordan?””
“I was upset!””
“I understand that. But if we're going to establish what happened, I need accurate answers.””
Danielle stepped forward.
“She doesn't have to remember every detail to know she's uncomfortable.””
“I'm not asking her to remember every detail. I'm asking whether she received a message.””
Kiara's eyes filled with tears.
“I don't know!””
Danielle immediately wrapped her arms around her daughter.
“It's okay, baby. You don't have to do this.””
Kiara buried her face against her mother's shoulder.
I waited until she lifted her head.
“Kiara, I'm not trying to trap you. If Jordan did something wrong, I need to know. If someone else used his phone or sent a message pretending to be him, I need to know that, too.””
She wiped her cheek.
“Why would someone do that?””
“That's what I'm trying to find out.””
For a moment, she looked directly at me.
Then her gaze dropped to the table.
“I don't want to talk about it anymore.””
Danielle pulled her chair back.
“That's enough. She's done.””
“I'm not forcing her to continue. But before we finish, I need to ask one more question.””
Danielle's face hardened.
“What now?””
“Did either of you move a black device from the garage last night?””
Kiara stopped crying.
It was a small change, but I saw it.
Her fingers froze around the tissue in her hand.
Danielle looked at me.
“What device?””
“I found signs that something had been hidden behind the workbench.””
“You've been searching through our garage now?””
“It's my garage.””
“It's our home!””
“Exactly. Which is why I want to understand what's happening in it.””
Kiara stood abruptly.
“I have to get ready.””
“You're already dressed,” I said.
She grabbed her schoolbag.
“I mean my books.””
She hurried upstairs.
Danielle followed her, but before she reached the doorway, I spoke.
“Danielle, we need to talk about this without turning every question into an attack.””
She stopped.
“You've made your position very clear, Marcus. Jordan is innocent in your eyes, and Kiara has to prove herself to you.””
“That isn't true.””
“Then stop treating her like a criminal.””
She disappeared upstairs.
I remained at the kitchen island, staring at the abandoned glass of orange juice.
Ten minutes later, Jordan came downstairs.
He was wearing yesterday's gray hoodie and carrying a backpack.
“Are you going to school?”” I asked.
He nodded.
“Do you want breakfast?””
“No, thanks.””
“Jordan, sit down for a minute.””
He looked toward the stairs.
“Is Kiara here?””
“Upstairs.””
“Okay.””
He sat.
I took the folded note from my wallet and placed it on the table.
“Why did you keep this?””
“Because I knew she'd say something eventually.””
“Did she tell you she was planning to accuse you?””
“No.””
“Then what did you mean?””
Jordan rubbed the edge of the paper.
“She told me she could make people believe whatever she wanted if she had the right screenshot.””
“When?””
“After the garage thing.””
“What garage thing?””
He stared at me.
“The black device.””
I felt my pulse quicken.
“You know what it is?””
He nodded slowly.
“It's a second phone.””
“Whose phone?””
“I don't know. Kiara said it belonged to someone who wasn't supposed to contact her.””
“Ethan?””
He looked up sharply.
“You know about Ethan?””
“Your stepsister mentioned his name?””
“No. I heard her talking to Mom.””
“When?””
“Last week. They were arguing in the laundry room. Kiara said Ethan had promised to delete something, and Mom told her nobody would ever find out if they handled it properly.””
I stared at him.
“What exactly did she say?””
“I couldn't hear everything. But I heard Mom say, 'If Marcus finds out, we're finished.''”
The words seemed to drain the warmth from the kitchen.
“Why didn't you tell me?””
“Because I thought they were talking about something personal. I didn't want to get involved.””
“Did you see the second phone?””
“Only once. Kiara showed it to me in the garage. She said it was a backup phone and told me not to tell you.””
“Did you touch it?””
“No.””
“Did you take it?””
“No.””
He leaned forward.
“Dad, I think someone used that phone to send the message. I think that's why she left her regular phone outside her room. She wanted you to find it and think I was involved.””
I studied his face.
“Do you have proof?””
He shook his head.
“Not yet.””
“Then we'll keep looking.””
He nodded.
But he didn't look relieved.
Instead, he glanced toward the staircase and whispered, “There's something else.””
“What?””
“Yesterday, Kiara asked me whether I'd ever used your laptop.””
I frowned.
“Why?””
“She said she needed to check something on it. When I told her no, she asked if I knew your password.””
“Do you?””
“No.””
“Did you tell her that?””
“Yes.””
He hesitated.
“Then she said she hoped I hadn't seen the garage footage.””
I went still.
“How did she know about the camera?””
“I don't know.””
I looked toward the office.
The computer was there. The camera recordings were accessible through my account.
If Kiara had been trying to access the footage, she might have known what I'd seen.
I stood and walked into the office.
The computer was still on the desktop screen.
I opened the security app.
The garage recording from the previous night was gone.
Not hidden in the archive.
Not moved to another folder.
Deleted.
I checked the activity log.
The deletion had occurred at 11:58 p.m.
The system showed that the request had been made from my account.
My account required a password.
Only three people knew it.
Me.
Danielle.
And the computer technician who had helped me install the system.
I changed the password immediately and checked the login history.
A session had been opened at 11:54 p.m. from the upstairs study.
That room was usually used by Danielle to handle paperwork.
I called her.
She answered on the second ring.
“What?””
“Did you access the security system last night?””
Silence.
“Why would I do that?””
“Because the garage footage was deleted from my account at 11:58.””
“I don't know anything about that.””
“Someone logged in from the upstairs study.””
“Then perhaps you should ask your son. He's always on the computer.””
“Jordan was in his bedroom. His phone was disconnected from the network.””
“You can't prove that.””
“I can prove when the devices connected.””
Her voice sharpened.
“Are you accusing me of deleting evidence?””
“I'm asking a question.””
“And I'm telling you that I didn't do it.””
I closed my eyes.
“Danielle, if you know something about the garage, tell me now.””
“I know that you've become obsessed with proving Jordan is innocent.””
“That's not an answer.””
“Then stop asking me questions you already know the answers to.””
She hung up.
I stood in the office, listening to the dial tone.
Then my computer chimed.
A new email had arrived from an unfamiliar address.
There was no subject line.
Only one sentence.
If you want to know why Kiara is afraid of Jordan, check the deleted footage from the garage on September 29.
I stared at the screen.
September 29.
The day the note had been written.
May you like
The day Jordan said Kiara had hidden the second phone.
And the day someone had apparently started building a story that would end with my son being thrown out of his own home.
