Chapter 1 — “Check the Camera”
Teenager Ethan was helping clean the kitchen during a crowded Saturday-night house party when he noticed something beside the sink.
A small black access card.
No name.
No logo.
Only a silver stripe across one corner.
Ethan picked it up.
“What’s this?”
Before anyone answered, homeowner Richard Hale walked into the kitchen.
He stopped immediately.
His eyes went straight to Ethan’s hand.
“Where did you get that?”
Ethan looked confused.
“It was beside the sink.”
Richard stepped closer.
“Give it to me.”
Ethan immediately placed the card on the counter.
“It was already here.”
Richard picked it up.
His expression hardened.
“This isn’t supposed to be in the kitchen.”
The party was being held for Richard’s daughter Sophie’s sixteenth birthday.
More than sixty guests were inside the house.
Parents.
Teenagers.
Neighbors.
Relatives.
Richard had hired a private security officer because the backyard pool, detached guesthouse, and home office all used electronic access.
The officer, Marcus Lee, stepped into the kitchen.
“Everything okay?”
Richard held up the card.
“Restricted access card.”
Marcus looked toward Ethan.
Ethan felt his stomach drop.
He knew exactly how the situation looked.
A teenager.
A crowded party.
A card that apparently opened somewhere guests weren’t supposed to enter.
And Ethan standing there holding it.
Richard asked:
“Have you been near the guesthouse?”
“No.”
“My office?”
“No.”
“The side service corridor?”
“I don’t even know where that is.”
Richard clearly did not believe him.
“This card was in my desk this afternoon.”
Ethan stared at him.
“Then somebody moved it.”
Richard folded his arms.
“And now you’re holding it.”
Several guests near the kitchen entrance had started watching.
Ethan’s face burned.
Then he looked upward.
A small security camera was mounted in the corner of the ceiling.
Pointed directly toward the counter.
Ethan raised one hand.
“Check the camera.”
Richard stopped.
“What?”
“If you think I took it, check the camera.”
Marcus looked toward the ceiling.
“He’s right.”
The officer pulled out his tablet.
He opened the kitchen feed.
Rewound fifteen minutes.
Ethan appeared on screen carrying empty plates.
He entered the kitchen.
The counter beside the sink was empty.
He left again.
Three minutes later…
someone else appeared.
A person wearing a blue sweatshirt moved quickly into the kitchen.
Looked over one shoulder.
Then placed the black card beside the sink.
Richard leaned closer.
Marcus paused the recording.
The person’s face was clearly visible.
Richard’s anger vanished.
His expression turned to shock.
“Sophie?”
Ethan stared at the screen.
The person who had planted the card…
was Richard’s own daughter.