Chapter 5 - The Hidden Cameras
The first hidden camera went into the dining room clock.
The second went inside a bookshelf.
The third went above the study door.
Robert installed them himself.
Mark knew about surveillance systems.
He might recognize professional equipment.
Robert instead purchased cheap components and modified them with parts from his workshop.
The recordings automatically uploaded to an encrypted server controlled by Evelyn's law firm.
Then Robert created bait.
A folder labeled:
ESTATE TRANSFER OPTIONS
He left it inside his locked study.
Two nights later, Mark entered.
Robert watched live from a motel room thirty miles away.
Mark had somehow obtained a copy of the study key.
He photographed every page.
He never noticed the documents were fake.
They suggested Robert planned to transfer full ownership of the mansion to Laura within sixty days.
Mark's timeline accelerated immediately.
The following week, he contacted a private lender using forged documents.
Loan requested:
2.8 million dollars.
Collateral:
Bennett estate.
Borrower:
Robert Bennett.
Authorized co-signer:
Laura Hale.
Mark expected the lender to perform minimal verification because he had arranged the transaction through an intermediary willing to overlook irregularities.
But the intermediary was already being investigated by federal authorities.
That was how Special Agent Daniel Mercer entered the story.
Mercer worked financial crimes.
He had followed a network of fraudulent property transfers across three states.
The Bennett application contained familiar patterns.
Same appraisal company.
Same document service.
Same shell-company structure.
Same hidden beneficiary.
He contacted Evelyn.
Evelyn contacted Robert.
For the first time, Robert understood that Mark was not merely stealing from one family.
He was connected to something larger.
"How many victims?" Robert asked.
Mercer looked through his notes.
"Confirmed? Eleven."
Robert stared.
"Families?"
"Mostly elderly property owners. Some estates. Some divorces. Some deaths."
"Deaths?"
Mercer did not answer immediately.
"Three suspicious."
Robert's expression changed.
"Laura doesn't know any of this."
"Keep it that way for now."
Robert hated him for saying it.
But Mercer was right.
If Laura confronted Mark too early, Mark might run.
Or kill someone.
The investigation needed him confident.
May you like
So Robert did the hardest thing he had ever done.
He acted ignorant.
