Chapter 10 - The Second Set of EyesThe photograph frightened Rosa more than anything Celeste had said.
When Daniel showed it to Naomi, she immediately advised preserving the message, documenting its source as far as possible, and notifying the detective assigned to the family's complaint.
Detective Iris Navarro met them that afternoon.
She had investigated financial fraud, threats, and domestic incidents for nearly fourteen years.
She did not promise easy answers.
That was one reason Daniel trusted her.
"We can't identify the sender from the message alone," Navarro explained. "We can pursue records through lawful channels and examine whether this is connected to the other allegations."
Rosa sat beside her daughter.
Mae had traveled home after hearing about the photograph.
She was nineteen, with her mother's dark eyes and a stubborn expression that reminded Daniel of Emma.
"Whoever did this wants her scared," Mae said.
Navarro nodded.
"That appears to be the purpose."
"Can you protect her?"
"We can assess the threat and discuss practical safety measures. But I won't tell you something is impossible just because I want you to feel better."
Mae reached for her mother's hand.
"We're not running away."
Rosa looked at her.
"Baby—"
"You always taught me to tell the truth."
Rosa began crying again.
The meeting ended with a plan to preserve evidence, avoid direct contact with the sender, and keep investigators informed of any new threats.
Daniel offered to cover reasonable temporary lodging and legal expenses through arrangements reviewed by counsel, without conditioning assistance on what Rosa said.
He didn't want her testimony bought.
He wanted her safe enough to tell it honestly.
That evening, Marcus Bell arrived with news about the estate's security system.
He had been examining archived maintenance records.
"There is something you should see," he told Daniel.
They sat together at the cottage's dining table.
Marcus opened a diagram of Wren Hill.
"There are eighteen cameras on the property. Most belong to the current system. But two older cameras were installed years before our company took over maintenance."
Daniel frowned.
"I didn't know they still worked."
"One doesn't. The other is a separate unit connected to the greenhouse network."
"What does it cover?"
"The rear service driveway near the old north access road."
Daniel leaned forward.
"Could it have recorded Graham visiting the property?"
"Possibly. We need to determine whether the storage is functional and what footage remains."
Daniel remembered Emma's notebook.
The north bridge.
The old maintenance shed.
The surveyors Celeste had arranged.
"Can we inspect it?"
"With the property owner's authorization and coordination with counsel, yes."
Naomi arranged permission through Margaret, the current trustee, and appropriate notice regarding the limited technical inspection.
The next morning, Marcus and an independent technician visited the greenhouse network cabinet while Daniel waited outside.
The camera's storage unit was old but functional.
It retained footage on a rolling thirty-day cycle.
Marcus exported the relevant files and recorded how they were obtained.
Back at his office, they reviewed the video.
The camera showed the service driveway.
Most recordings were ordinary.
Gardeners arriving.
Delivery trucks.
Maintenance vehicles.
Then a black SUV appeared on September twenty-fourth.
Graham stepped out.
Celeste emerged from the passenger side.
They were accompanied by a man carrying a rolled survey plan.
The three walked toward the northern path.
Daniel checked the date.
It was the same day the upstairs camera had been disconnected.
The exterior camera didn't show that disconnection.
But it established another meeting at the estate.
Marcus opened a later clip.
Three days afterward, a white van arrived.
Two workers unloaded metal cases, measuring equipment, and several document tubes.
They spent nearly four hours near the north access road.
"Surveyors?" Daniel asked.
"Possibly," Marcus replied. "We'd need to identify them."
Daniel leaned closer.
One man was wearing a jacket with a small embroidered logo.
CRESTLINE DEVELOPMENT
Naomi looked at the screen.
"Crestline?"
Daniel shook his head.
"I've never heard of them."
Naomi opened her laptop.
A basic corporate search showed that Crestline Development was a regional real estate company involved in high-end residential subdivisions and luxury property projects.
It had no obvious connection to Daniel's business.
"Why would they survey the land?" Daniel asked.
Naomi examined the footage.
"Someone may have invited them to evaluate a possible transaction."
"But the option agreement is with Vale Ridge."
"Exactly."
Marcus froze the image of the worker carrying equipment.
Behind him, the old northern maintenance shed was visible.
Its door stood open.
Daniel remembered the star Emma had drawn in her notebook.
Originals.
He looked at Naomi.
"Could Crestline be the real buyer?"
"Possibly. We need documents connecting the entities."
Marcus scrolled forward.
An hour later, the workers returned to the SUV.
One carried a blue document box.
Daniel leaned toward the screen.
On the side of the box was an old handwritten label.
S. HARTLEY — ORIGINAL PROPERTY RECORDS
Daniel stood.
"That's my father's handwriting."
Naomi looked at him.
"Are you certain?"
"I've seen it all my life."
The box had been stored in the maintenance shed.
Emma's notebooks had pointed toward it.
And on the screen, Daniel watched a stranger carry it away.
The man placed it in the back of Graham's vehicle.
Graham closed the door.
Then he and Celeste drove away.
Daniel stared at the paused image.
May you like
Whatever the original documents contained, Graham had wanted them badly enough to remove them from Wren Hill.
And Daniel was beginning to suspect that the forged signatures were only one part of a much larger deception.
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