The Person Inside My House
Chapter 10 - The Person Inside My House
The device belonged to Eleanor.
At least, that was what the router log said.
ELEANOR-IPAD.
I read it again.
"No."
Mara did not react.
"Claire."
"She testified for me."
"That doesn't change the data."
"She gave us the voicemail."
"That doesn't change the data either."
I thought of Eleanor in my kitchen.
Her calm face.
Her emergency key.
Her notary seal on my forged signature.
Her dormant company receiving money.
Her safe-deposit box accessed with a forged version of her name.
Every road led back to her.
I felt stupid for ever believing otherwise.
"Where is she?"
"At home, I assume."
I called.
No answer.
Again.
No answer.
Sienna stood near the restroom sinks watching me.
"What happened?"
I ignored her.
Mara took the access log.
"Do not decide what this means before Naomi verifies the device identification."
"It means she used her iPad."
"It means a device identified by your router as her iPad used your network."
"That is the same thing."
"No."
Her voice was firm.
"It is not."
I hated her for being precise.
Then loved her for it.
By four that afternoon, Naomi had an answer.
Someone had cloned the device name.
I stared at her across Judith's dining table.
"People can do that?"
"Renaming a device is not sophisticated."
"So Camden made his computer look like Eleanor's iPad?"
"Possibly."
"Can you prove it?"
"Maybe."
She pulled up a log.
"The device connected using a private hardware address that changed periodically, but the browser fingerprint is interesting."
"What does that mean in English?"
Naomi smiled.
"It means the person who did this used the same obscure browser extensions Camden uses on his work laptop."
Relief came too quickly.
I caught myself.
"That still doesn't prove him."
"No."
"Why frame his mother?"
Naomi leaned back.
"Maybe he didn't expect anyone to look this closely."
Or maybe he did.
That thought stayed with me.
At six, Eleanor finally called.
Her voice was strained.
"Claire, I'm at Hale Coastal."
"Why?"
"Camden came into the office."
"He's supposed to be flying to the island."
"He changed his plans."
My skin prickled.
"What is he doing?"
"Removing files."
"Stop him."
"I tried."
"And?"
"He told security I am having a cognitive episode."
I stood up.
"What?"
"He revoked my building access."
"You own thirty percent of the company."
"Apparently that does not impress the new security contractor."
For the first time, I heard fear in her voice.
"Call the police."
"For what? My son taking company records from a company he runs?"
Mara held out her hand.
I put the call on speaker.
"Eleanor, do not confront him again," Mara said. "Document what you saw."
"Who is this?"
"Mara."
"Oh."
Even in crisis, Eleanor sounded mildly annoyed.
"Mrs. Hale, did Camden remove physical records?"
"Boxes. At least six."
"Where did he take them?"
"Loading garage."
"Vehicle?"
"A black Range Rover."
Sienna spoke.
"That's not his."
Everyone looked at her.
"Whose is it?" I asked.
"Mr. Voss."
The man from the island.
The gray suit.
The delayed transfer.
Mara asked, "Do you have a full name?"
"No."
Eleanor did.
"Peter Voss."
Naomi immediately searched public records.
Peter Voss, restructuring consultant.
Specialty: distressed companies, offshore asset recovery, private liquidation.
Not a criminal on paper.
Possibly not one at all.
"Camden may be preparing Hale Coastal for bankruptcy," Naomi said.
Eleanor went silent on the phone.
"No."
"How bad is the company debt?"
"I don't know."
"You own thirty percent and don't know?"
"Camden has handled finances since Arthur died."
Naomi closed her eyes briefly.
Even she looked pained.
The pattern was suddenly obvious.
Arthur had controlled the money.
Then Camden.
Everyone else had been given summaries and reassurances.
Trust, dressed as family governance.
"Get me the last five years of financial statements," Naomi said.
Eleanor hesitated.
"Now," I said.
She sent them within ten minutes.
Naomi worked until nearly midnight.
At 11:42, she looked up.
"Hale Coastal is insolvent."
Eleanor stared at the screen.
"That's impossible."
"No."
Naomi turned the laptop.
"These receivables are inflated. These intercompany loans are not collectible. Several properties are overleveraged."
"Camden told the board—"
"Camden lied to the board."
"How much?"
Naomi exhaled.
"Best estimate? Eight to twelve million."
Eleanor sat down.
I felt nothing.
The number was too large to feel.
"Why would he steal two hundred thousand from Lila if the hole is ten million?"
"Because fraud is often about buying time."
Naomi pointed to a loan covenant.
"A payment default triggers an audit. He needed four hundred thousand by Friday to avoid one."
"The restitution trust."
"Exactly."
"He was going to steal four-twelve, make the payment, and put Lila's money back."
"That may have been the plan."
I thought of the private island.
The yacht.
Sienna.
"He still spent some of it."
"Yes."
Sienna's face twisted.
I knew what she was thinking.
She had been part of the spending.
At midnight, a notification appeared on my phone.
Our home security camera.
Motion detected.
My body went rigid.
Camden had entered the house.
Again.
This time he was not alone.
Peter Voss walked in behind him.
They carried two boxes into my office.
Naomi moved closer to the screen.
"Can your camera record audio?"
"Only near the front door."
We watched silently.
Camden opened one box.
Files.
Peter handed him something.
A small hard drive.
Then Camden looked directly at the camera.
My stomach dropped.
He knew.
He walked toward it until his face filled the screen.
Then he reached up.
The feed went black.
My phone rang immediately.
Camden.
Mara said, "Do not answer."
I stared at his name.
Then I answered.
"Hello."
His breathing was steady.
"Enjoying the show?"
I said nothing.
"You always did like watching instead of asking."
"What are you doing in the house?"
"My house."
"Our house."
"Not for long."
My hand tightened around the phone.
"What do you want?"
"To give you one chance."
"At what?"
"Stop digging."
"No."
He laughed softly.
Not angry.
Almost sad.
"You still don't understand."
"Then explain it."
"I didn't marry you for your mother's records."
I closed my eyes.
"Your own voicemail says otherwise."
"I approached you because of them."
"That's supposed to help?"
"No."
A pause.
"I married you because I loved you."
The old me might have broken at that sentence.
The new one just waited.
Camden continued.
"And I took Lila's money because I was trying to save something that belongs to her."
I almost laughed.
"What?"
"Hale Coastal."
"She doesn't own Hale Coastal."
"She will."
"No."
"Your mother made sure of it."
The room went silent around me.
"What are you talking about?"
"Ask Judith why she didn't show you the second trust schedule."
I looked across the table.
Judith's face changed.
Just enough.
Camden heard my silence.
"There it is," he said quietly. "Finally."
I stared at Judith.
"What second schedule?"
She did not answer.
Camden did.
"The one that says your daughter owns more of my family company than my mother does."
Then he hung up.
May you like
Every person in the room turned toward Judith.
And for the first time, the woman my mother trusted more than family looked like she had something to hide.
