Chapter 8 - The Camera Beyond the DoorMartin Ellis had worked as the Oleso family's security director for nearly eleven years.
He was a former police officer with a quiet manner and a precise memory.
He disliked speculation.
He preferred facts.
And the facts surrounding October 8 disturbed him.
Three days after Nora's call, he met Gabriel at Margaret's office.
Martin brought a laptop, security-system diagrams, and a written timeline.
"The mansion has twenty-seven cameras," he explained.
"Why didn't anyone see what happened?" Gabriel asked.
"Because there isn't one inside the living room."
Gabriel remembered approving that decision.
Evelyn had always disliked the idea of cameras recording Mia's private family life.
The system monitored entrances, exterior grounds, service corridors, and certain common passageways.
Not the bedrooms.
Not the bathrooms.
Not the living room.
"Then what do we have?" Margaret asked.
"Access records. Entry alerts. Some hallway footage."
Martin opened the laptop.
The first image showed a service corridor leading toward the living room.
A timestamp appeared in the corner.
October 8, 2026.
1:48 p.m.
Celeste walked through the corridor carrying a dark shopping bag.
She entered the kitchen.
Seven minutes later, she emerged with something metallic partially visible inside the bag.
Gabriel leaned closer.
"Is that the bowl?"
"It might be," Martin answered. "The image isn't clear enough to establish that."
He continued.
At 2:11 p.m., Mia appeared briefly at the far end of the corridor.
Celeste walked behind her.
Then they disappeared into the living room.
Gabriel's hands tightened.
"What happened next?"
Martin hesitated.
"The relevant camera feed was disabled at 2:13."
Margaret looked up.
"By whom?"
"The system shows an administrator command."
"Which administrator?"
"Celeste's account."
Gabriel stood.
"She turned it off?"
"The records indicate her account issued the command. We'll need to authenticate the records and determine who actually used the account."
Gabriel forced himself to sit again.
"What about after Nora called?"
Martin opened another file.
"At 3:08 p.m., someone attempted to delete the corridor recording from the security system."
"Celeste?"
"Again, the action is recorded under her account."
"Did it work?"
"Partially."
Martin explained that the mansion's system stored video on a local recorder for thirty days unless footage was preserved.
The administrator could delete certain locally stored clips.
However, separate entry-alert notifications had already been delivered to Martin's security workstation.
Those alerts included small still images.
The photographs could not prove everything.
But they independently established movement, timing, and the presence of certain objects.
Gabriel looked at one image.
Celeste stood beside the living-room doorway.
In her hand was the metal bowl.
Mia stood several feet away.
Her shoulders appeared hunched.
Gabriel stared at the screen.
For a moment, he imagined reaching through time and opening that door himself.
"What can we do with this?" he asked.
"Preserve it," Margaret replied. "Then let the investigators evaluate it."
Martin nodded.
"I've already arranged for a forensic copy of the local system's records. We documented how the files were acquired."
Gabriel looked at him.
"Why did Celeste have administrator access?"
Martin seemed uncomfortable.
"She asked for it last year. You approved the request."
Gabriel remembered a brief conversation.
Celeste said she wanted to manage access for private events.
He had agreed without much thought.
Another signature.
Another convenience.
Another decision made because he trusted her.
"Did you ever question what she was doing?" Gabriel asked.
"Once."
"When?"
"In June."
Martin lowered his eyes.
"I noticed that the living-room corridor camera was repeatedly disabled during afternoon hours."
"What did she say?"
"That Mia's therapy team had requested privacy."
Gabriel's voice sharpened.
"And you accepted that?"
Martin met his eyes.
"You were copied on my report, sir."
Gabriel went silent.
Martin opened another document.
It was an email dated June 22.
The subject read:
Repeated Camera Interruptions — Family Wing.
Gabriel's email address appeared among the recipients.
He searched his memory.
He vaguely recalled seeing the message.
Celeste had later told him the system was malfunctioning.
He had dismissed the issue.
Margaret watched him carefully.
"This doesn't make you responsible for Celeste's actions," she said, "but we need to understand every warning that was missed."
Gabriel nodded.
He no longer wanted anyone to protect him from uncomfortable truths.
"Give the investigators everything."
"Even the emails showing I received warnings?" Martin asked.
"Especially those."
That evening, Martin returned to the estate with police authorization to provide additional records.
Celeste was staying elsewhere under a temporary agreement while the protective-order application proceeded.
The mansion was quiet.
As Martin reviewed maintenance reports, he noticed a service ticket from September.
It had been submitted by Celeste.
The request was unusual.
Remove stored security notifications from household administrative accounts.
Martin had declined it.
He had explained that archival alerts were retained under the security company's ordinary policy.
Now he understood why she might have wanted them gone.
He forwarded the ticket to Detective Shaw.
Minutes later, his phone rang.
It was an unfamiliar number.
"Martin Ellis?"
"Speaking."
A man's voice answered.
"You should be careful about what you give Gabriel."
Martin frowned.
"Who is this?"
"Someone who knows you have a pension and a family."
The line disconnected.
Martin looked at the phone.
Then he opened his notebook and wrote down the exact time.
May you like
The threatening call was evidence.
And whoever had made it had just given him another reason not to remain silent.
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