Chapter 9 - The First Husband’s House
Claire took Ethan to Julian’s old home in Santa Barbara.
She had kept it after their mother refused to sell.
The house had remained mostly empty for years.
Vanessa had taken her personal belongings after Julian died.
But she had left behind boxes in the garage.
Claire had never opened all of them.
They spent four hours searching.
Old tax files.
Photographs.
Receipts.
Medical bills.
Then Ethan found a binder labeled HOME PROJECT.
Julian had been renovating the property before he died.
Inside were security-system invoices.
One stood out.
OFFSITE CLOUD STORAGE - ACTIVE.
Claire stared at it.
“Police said the cameras weren’t recording that night.”
“Maybe the local recorder wasn’t.”
They called the security company.
It had been acquired twice.
Most records were gone.
But an old technician remembered the system.
“There was backup storage.”
“For how long?”
“Ninety days.”
“This was six years ago.”
“Then it’s gone.”
Claire’s shoulders fell.
Then the technician added:
“Unless the customer downloaded clips.”
“Did Julian?”
“I can’t tell you.”
The old system used a computer application.
Claire suddenly remembered Julian’s external hard drives.
They were in a storage locker.
By evening, they found three.
The first contained work files.
The second contained family photos.
The third was encrypted.
Ethan’s cybersecurity team could open it legally only with Claire’s permission as representative of Julian’s estate.
She signed.
The drive contained dozens of saved camera clips.
Most were ordinary.
Deliveries.
Workers.
Vanessa leaving.
Julian arriving.
Then they found a folder dated four days before Julian’s death.
A kitchen argument.
Julian accused Vanessa of moving money.
Vanessa denied it.
Julian said he had contacted an attorney.
Then Vanessa replied:
“You think divorce means you win?”
Julian walked away.
Another clip showed Vanessa entering his office later that night.
She opened a drawer.
Photographed documents.
Then used his laptop.
The final clip ended before showing what she did.
But the following morning, Julian’s attorney received an email canceling a meeting.
Claire’s eyes narrowed.
“Julian never canceled that meeting.”
“You’re sure?”
“He called me furious because the attorney supposedly ignored him.”
Ethan felt cold.
Someone may have canceled it using Julian’s account.
Then Noah called.
“We found something from your house.”
“What?”
“A hidden audio file.”
“From where?”
“The smart speaker in the blue room.”
Ethan stood.
“I didn’t know there was one.”
“That’s because Vanessa removed it three months ago.”
“Can you recover the recordings?”
“Not all.”
“How much?”
Noah hesitated.
“One clip.”
May you like
“What does it say?”
“You need to hear Sophie’s voice.”
