There were absolutely no cameras in bedrooms or bathrooms.

But the system covered enough of the property to show me what happened inside my home when everyone believed I was thousands of miles away.

Hector and I entered the secure monitoring room hidden behind the garage.

He locked the heavy door behind us.

A wall of monitors glowed in front of me.

“Audio is active in every common area, Mr. Vance,” Hector said quietly.

I sat down.

“I want to see what happens in this house when everyone believes I’m gone.”

For the first fifteen minutes, I felt ridiculous.

Marisol cleaned the marble kitchen counters.

My daughters sat at the dining table finishing breakfast.

Outside, the landscaper worked near the pool.

Nothing suspicious happened.

Nothing even remotely unusual.

I was beginning to think Chloe’s warnings had gotten inside my head.

I almost stood up and ended the entire experiment.

Then Chloe entered the main living room.

And within seconds, I realized I had been watching the wrong person.

The woman on the screen barely resembled the elegant, soft-spoken fiancée I thought I knew.

Her posture changed.

Her pleasant expression disappeared.

Her face hardened.

Valeria was sitting quietly on the rug beside the fireplace reading a book.

Sofia sat nearby holding an old stuffed rabbit.