Sheriff Mercer came upstairs moments later. His face hardened when he saw the lens.
“Everyone out of the room,” he ordered. “This is now a secured scene.”
As we moved into the hallway, one of the deputies called from the office downstairs.
“Sheriff, we found more equipment.”
Mercer looked at me.
“How much more?”
The deputy’s reply carried through the stairwell.
“Several monitors. Multiple camera feeds.”
Mother gripped the railing.
“They watched me?”
I put an arm around her.
We descended slowly.
Julian and Chloe stood near the front door under the supervision of a deputy. Chloe clutched her purse against her chest. Julian’s earlier outrage had been replaced by careful silence.
The home office door was open.
Inside, six small screens displayed live images from different parts of the house.
The kitchen.
The living room.
The upstairs hallway.
Mother’s bedroom.
The guest bedroom.
And the bathroom.
My stomach turned.
The bathroom camera was positioned high above the mirror.
Chloe looked at the monitors and began speaking rapidly.
“They were for safety. She falls. She wanders.”
“You recorded her bathing,” I said.
“We never watched that feed.”
One monitor showed a list of archived files.
Hundreds of them.
Julian stepped forward.
“I want an attorney.”
Sheriff Mercer nodded.
“That would be wise.”
A technician arrived and began disconnecting the system. Another deputy searched the desk under the authority of the emergency order and probable cause created by the surveillance equipment.
He opened a locked drawer.
Inside were several folders containing bank statements, property documents, blank checks, and copies of Mother’s signature.
A rubber stamp lay beside them.
The stamp reproduced her name perfectly.
Renee picked up one file.
“Silver Crown Holdings,” she read.
Julian stared at the floor.
I took the folder from her and scanned the top page.
It was a purchase agreement for Mother’s house.
The sale price was less than one-third of its market value.
The buyer was Silver Crown Holdings.
The authorized representative signing on behalf of the company was hidden behind another corporate entity.
But a handwritten note had been clipped to the back.
J.V.—final distribution after closing.
Julian Vance.
Chloe suddenly moved toward the front door.
A deputy blocked her.
“Where are you going?”
