"No! I won't stay in this house another second if you don't believe me!" Chloe lunged toward the door, attempting to storm out, but Clara stepped directly into her path, blocking the exit.
"You're not going anywhere, Chloe," Clara said coldly. "Dad, where is the feed stored?"
Arthur pulled a small silver smartphone from his inside jacket pocket. "It synchronizes automatically to a secure cloud server. I can access the live playback right here. Or we can cast it to the main monitor on my desk."
Chloe made a sudden move toward Arthur's hand, as if to knock the phone away, but Ethan caught her wrist. His grip was firm, his face pale.
"Let's look at the desk monitor," Ethan whispered, his heart hammering against his ribs like a trapped bird.
Chapter 6: Playback
Ethan walked over to his father’s oak desk with heavy, hesitant steps. His fingers shook as he powered on the large desktop monitor. Arthur walked beside him, typing in his secure password and launching the cloud storage application. Clara kept a watchful eye on Chloe, who remained near the door, her breathing shallow, her eyes darting frantically around the room looking for an escape.
"Select today's date," Arthur instructed softly. "Timestamp 16:45."
Ethan clicked the file. The screen flickered, and then a crisp, wide-angle high-definition video appeared on the screen.
The angle was elevated, providing a crystal-clear view of the entire study. On the recording, the room was empty at first. The clock on the study wall in the video read 4:42 PM.
Ethan held his breath. The room on screen was completely quiet.
At 4:44 PM, the double doors on the video opened. Chloe walked into the study. She was alone.
In the real world, Chloe let out a small, pathetic whimper and shrank back against the wall. Ethan didn't turn around; his eyes were glued to the screen.
On the video, Chloe didn't look like a woman coming to ask about dinner. She walked with rapid, practiced steps directly toward Arthur's desk. She opened the bottom drawer, pulled out a small set of keys, and walked over to the landscape painting on the north wall. She swung the painting open, revealing the wall safe underneath.
"What is she doing?" Ethan whispered, though the answer was already unfolding right in front of his eyes.
Chapter 7: Unveiling the Thief
The video played on in brutal high definition.
On the screen, Chloe smoothly entered a combination key sequence, used the key, and pulled the heavy steel safe door open. She reached inside and pulled out three thick stacks of hundred-dollar bills—cash Arthur had withdrawn just the day before to pay for upcoming estate renovations.
She quickly stuffed the cash into her large leather designer tote bag.
Ethan felt as though all the air had been violently kicked out of his lungs. He stared at his wife’s recorded image—her face on screen wasn't frantic or frightened; it was calm, cold, and calculated. She moved with the efficiency of someone who had done this exact routine multiple times before.
"My God..." Ethan murmured, grabbing the edge of the desk to steady himself. "Chloe... you were stealing from him."
"Ethan, listen to me!" Chloe pleaded, her voice cracking as she took a step toward the desk. "I can explain! I had to! I was in trouble, I owed people money, I—"
"Shut up!" Clara barked, her voice cutting through the room like a whip. "Shut your mouth and keep watching!"
Arthur stood silently beside his son, his face impassive, though a deep sorrow filled his eyes. The video was moving past the theft now, reaching the critical moment—timestamp 16:48 PM.
Chapter 8: The Framed Setup
On the screen, just as Chloe snapped her purse shut, the study door opened again. Arthur walked into the frame, carrying a stack of legal documents.
In the video, Arthur noticed his safe wide open and Chloe standing beside it with her purse open.
"What are you doing in here, Chloe?" Arthur’s recorded voice came through the high-quality desktop speakers, clear and unmistakable.
Chloe panicked on screen. She dropped her bag, stepped back, and looked at Arthur. Arthur stepped toward the safe, pointing at the missing cash.
"Did you take that money?" Arthur asked on the tape, his tone bewildered rather than aggressive. "Chloe, answer me!"
What happened next on the video made Ethan's blood run cold.
Chloe didn't answer. Instead, she deliberately gripped the collar of her own silk blouse and ripped it violently downward, popping three buttons off. She then dragged her own fingernails down her neck, leaving bright red scratches. She reached up, messily disheveled her own hair, and let out a blood-curdling scream.