Chapter 3 - A House Full of Cameras
By sunrise, Claire no longer thought of the Malibu estate as her home.
It was a crime scene with ocean views.
Arthur's security team met them at the gate. Police had already sealed Sophie's bedroom, the upstairs hall, and the kitchen pantry. Julian had been told not to enter the property without counsel.
Claire walked inside holding Sophie's hand.
"Do you want to stay with Grandpa tonight?"
Sophie nodded.
Then she looked toward the staircase and froze.
"What is it?"
"The camera."
Claire followed her gaze.
A tiny black dot sat inside the carved eye of a wooden horse on the console table.
Arthur's security chief, Mara Velez, climbed onto a chair and removed it.
"Wireless pinhole camera," she said. "Not part of the estate system."
Claire's stomach turned.
They found six more.
One faced the kitchen table. One watched the back stairs. One was hidden inside a smoke detector outside Claire's bedroom. Two covered Sophie's playroom from different angles.
The last one was inside Sophie's bedroom.
Claire had to leave the room before she threw up.
Mara came downstairs carrying a plastic evidence bag.
"This one has local storage. We may be able to recover video."
Sophie sat on the couch clutching a stuffed rabbit.
"Daddy said the cameras were for burglars," she whispered.
Claire knelt in front of her. "Did he tell you not to talk about them?"
"He said you'd get sick again if I made you upset."
Again.
The word landed wrong.
Claire remembered the panic attacks that had started eight months earlier. The sudden dizziness. The nights she woke disoriented. Julian had been so caring then. He brought her tea. He reminded her to take the pills prescribed by Dr. Halpern, the psychiatrist Julian had recommended.
Claire stood so quickly the room tilted.
"Mara, I need every bottle from my bathroom. Every vitamin. Every prescription. Everything."
Arthur watched her face.
"What are you thinking?"
"I'm thinking Sophie isn't the only one in this house who was being given something."
An hour later Mara found a small amber bottle behind a false panel in the pantry.
No pharmacy label.
Blue liquid.
Arthur's jaw tightened.
Then one of the digital investigators called from the media room.
"Ms. Bellamy? We recovered footage from the bedroom camera."
Claire rushed in.
The screen showed Sophie asleep three nights earlier.
At 1:14 a.m., the bedroom door opened.
Julian walked in carrying the blue bottle.
But he wasn't alone.
A second person entered behind him.
Claire leaned toward the screen.
May you like
It wasn't Vivienne.
It was Dr. Halpern.
