Chapter 6 - THE CAMERA THEY FORGOT
Beatriz had disabled three exterior cameras.
That was why she felt safe laughing on the terrace.
She had not disabled all of them.
The garden irrigation system had its own security camera.
Small.
Low resolution.
Installed after equipment theft the previous summer.
Beatriz apparently forgot it existed.
The cloud archive contained eleven weeks of motion-triggered clips.
We watched the first ten minutes.
Then I stopped.
Not because the footage was graphic.
Because it was repetitive.
Isabella carrying laundry.
Dragging garden hoses.
Cleaning outdoor furniture.
Moving trash.
Standing alone while Beatriz watched from the terrace.
One clip showed rain.
Isabella was sweeping leaves.
Rosa approached with an umbrella.
Beatriz came outside.
Said something.
Rosa took the umbrella away.
I looked at her.
She began crying.
“She told me I would be fired.”
I nodded.
“I know.”
Another clip showed Isabella sitting on the garden steps eating bread.
Not lunch.
Bread.
I asked.
“Why?”
Rosa answered.
“Punishment.”
“For what?”
“She asked to call you.”
I had to leave the room.
I stood in the hallway with both hands against the wall.
For years, I believed control meant knowing how to stay calm.
That day I learned calm can hurt.
Because anger would have been easier.
Anger moves.
Grief sits.
I returned.
“Continue.”
The most important clip came from twelve days earlier.
Beatriz and Sergio walked into camera range.
No Isabella.
No staff.
Sergio held documents.
Audio was faint.
But understandable.
“When is he signing?”
Beatriz answered.
“Tuesday.”
“What if he reads it?”
“He never reads domestic paperwork.”
That stung.
Because it was partly true.
I read hundred-page commercial contracts.
Then signed household forms because Beatriz said.
Just school.
Just insurance.
Just staff.
Sergio laughed.
“And the girl?”
Beatriz looked toward the garden.
“Switzerland.”
“She’ll complain.”
“To who?”
“Gabriel?”
She laughed.
“He doesn’t even answer his own daughter.”
I closed my eyes.
I had answered every call I received.
But how many never reached me?
Sergio asked.
“Then what?”
Beatriz lowered her voice.
“The trust expenses begin.”
“And after that?”
Another pause.
“Gabriel keeps traveling.”
“We keep managing.”
The recording ended.
I looked at Ana.
“Fraud?”
“Potentially.”
“Conspiracy?”
“Potentially.”
“Child mistreatment?”
“That is separate and already being documented.”
I stared at the frozen image.
Beatriz smiling beside Sergio.
Then Rosa whispered.
“Sir.”
I turned.
“There is another camera.”
“Where?”
“The nursery.”
I stared.
“Isabella’s old nursery?”
Rosa nodded.
“Mrs. Navarro used it as an office while you were away.”
“What did it record?”
Rosa looked terrified.
“I don’t know.”
May you like
But Beatriz did.
Because twenty minutes later, she tried to leave the villa with a laptop.
