Chapter 3 - The Neighbor Who Had Been WatchingEvelyn Price had lived across from the Bennett mansion for twenty-two years.
She had known Sawyer’s parents before their deaths. She remembered Sawyer as a teenage boy who carried groceries for elderly neighbors and repaired bicycles for children on the street.
When Sawyer introduced Carolina to the neighborhood, Evelyn had welcomed her warmly.
Over time, however, Evelyn noticed things Sawyer did not.
Carolina was charming whenever other adults were present, but her voice changed when she believed no one could hear her.
Evelyn heard her scolding Gracie for spilling juice at a neighborhood picnic. She once saw Carolina grab the girl’s wrist too tightly before noticing Evelyn nearby.
Most concerning was the black SUV that began visiting whenever Sawyer traveled.
The driver never parked in front of the house. He entered through the service gate and left before Sawyer returned.
Evelyn installed new cameras after several packages disappeared from her porch. One camera captured the street. Another faced the side of her property, including part of the Bennett driveway and the narrow path leading to their backyard.
The afternoon of Sawyer’s return, Evelyn had been watering her flowers when the black SUV arrived.
A man stepped out.
He was tall, broad-shouldered, and wore a gray jacket. Carolina greeted him at the service entrance.
They did not embrace like strangers.
An hour later, Evelyn heard shouting.
She went inside and checked her camera feed.
Gracie appeared on the screen, running barefoot from the mansion. She carried something small and silver in her hand.
Carolina followed her.
The man in the gray jacket came behind Carolina.
Gracie reached the pool.
Carolina caught up and tried to take the object.
Even without sound, the fear on Gracie’s face was clear.
The man blocked the path back to the house.
A moment later, Gracie disappeared beyond the camera’s view near the pool house.
Carolina and the man remained visible.
They argued.
Then they entered the pool-house area.
Only Carolina returned.
The man went back inside the mansion.
Evelyn called the Bennett home phone, but no one answered. She considered calling the police. Before she could decide, the storm intensified and the neighborhood lost power for several minutes.
When the power returned, Evelyn saw Sawyer’s rented car outside the gate.
She grabbed her phone and flashlight.
Now, as Sawyer ran back toward the mansion, Evelyn held Gracie beneath the covered gatehouse.
“Your father is here,” Evelyn whispered. “No one is taking you back inside.”
Gracie stared toward the front door.
Carolina had disappeared into the house.
Evelyn called emergency services.
Within minutes, sirens sounded beyond the trees.
Sawyer reached the mansion’s entrance just as the black door closed.
He pushed it open.
The foyer chandelier illuminated wet footprints across the marble floor.
One set belonged to Carolina.
The other prints were much larger.
“Come out!” Sawyer shouted.
A door slammed upstairs.
Sawyer started toward the staircase but stopped when he heard glass break in the study.
He changed direction.
Inside the study, the French doors leading to the garden stood open. Rain blew across the carpet. A desk drawer had been pulled out, and papers were scattered over the floor.
The man was gone.
Carolina stood beside the fireplace.
“What did you do?” Sawyer demanded.
“I didn’t do anything.”
“Who was here?”
“No one.”
“Gracie said otherwise.”
“She’s confused.”
Sawyer looked at the open French doors.
“Was it Adrian?”
Carolina’s expression changed.
Adrian Vale was Carolina’s older brother.
He had disappeared from family gatherings two years earlier after Sawyer discovered that he had used Bennett Urban Development’s name to secure several private loans.
Sawyer had refused to rescue him financially.
Carolina claimed she had ended contact with Adrian.
“Why would you say that?” she asked.
“Because he’s the only person you would protect while our daughter was suffering.”
Police lights flashed through the windows.
Carolina’s face hardened.
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“You have no idea what you’re doing.”
“You’re right,” Sawyer said. “But I’m about to find out.”
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