Chapter 6 - The Night Someone Entered My Home
For several seconds, I couldn't move.
The drawer was empty.
The leather notebook had disappeared.
I searched beneath the bed.
Inside the closet.
Behind the nightstand.
Nothing.
Thomas's handwriting.
His renovation records.
His warnings.
The documents he had carefully preserved.
All gone.
I turned toward Jared.
“Who came into my bedroom?”
His face went white.
“Mom, I didn't—”
“Who?”
He stepped backward.
“I swear I didn't take anything.”
I believed he was frightened.
But that didn't mean he was innocent.
I stared at him.
“Did Vanessa come here?”
He shook his head.
“Not that I know of.”
“Did Richard?”
“No.”
I looked toward the window.
The cabin had security cameras.
Thomas had installed them around the property.
I remembered Emily explaining how to access the recordings.
My hands trembled as I opened the security application.
The front entrance camera showed the porch.
The driveway.
The gate.
I scrolled backward.
Then stopped.
At 2:17 that morning, a dark vehicle appeared near the road.
It didn't enter through the main gate.
Instead, it stopped beside the trees.
A person stepped out.
Wearing a dark jacket.
A baseball cap.
Gloves.
I watched the figure move toward the side of the house.
Then disappear behind the greenhouse.
My heart pounded.
I switched cameras.
The person approached the rear service door.
They bent down.
A few seconds later, the door opened.
I felt sick.
Someone had entered my home while I slept.
Jared leaned closer.
“Who is that?”
I couldn't answer.
The figure moved inside.
Eleven minutes later, they emerged carrying something beneath their jacket.
My notebook.
I was sure of it.
The figure returned to the vehicle.
Then drove away.
Jared stared at the screen.
“Oh my God.”
I looked at him.
“Someone knew exactly where to go.”
He swallowed.
“Mom…”
I stepped away.
“Don't.”
My voice shook.
“I need to think.”
I called Margaret immediately.
She instructed me to preserve the footage and contact the sheriff's department.
I did both.
Two deputies arrived that afternoon.
They examined the rear door.
There were signs of tampering near the lock.
I gave them the security footage.
They took my statement.
Jared gave one too.
He admitted that he had told Vanessa where the notebook was kept.
I watched his face while he spoke.
He looked ashamed.
For the first time, he seemed to understand that his silence and carelessness could hurt people.
After the deputies left, I changed every lock.
Emily came over to help.
She installed temporary motion lights near the rear entrance.
She also checked the security system.
Then she looked at me.
“Thomas expected something like this.”
I stared.
“What?”
She hesitated.
“He asked me to install a second security system.”
My heart skipped.
“A second one?”
She nodded.
“One that records independently.”
I felt a wave of relief.
“Where?”
Emily smiled faintly.
“Hidden cameras.”
I stared at her.
“Thomas really thought of everything.”
“Almost.”
She opened her laptop.
Then pulled up another recording.
The same intruder appeared near the rear entrance.
But this angle showed something the first camera hadn't captured.
The person's face.
Only briefly.
But clearly enough.
I leaned closer.
And gasped.
Patricia.
Vanessa's mother.
She had entered my home.
Stolen Thomas's notebook.
And disappeared before dawn.
I stared at the screen.
“Why would she do this?”
Emily looked serious.
“Because Richard is getting desperate.”
I called Margaret again.
She contacted the sheriff's department and provided the additional footage.
Within hours, deputies were questioning Patricia.
She initially denied everything.
Then changed her story.
She claimed she had entered the cabin to retrieve documents belonging to her husband.
But the footage showed forced entry.
And she had no permission to be there.
The following morning, Margaret called with news.
“Patricia has been arrested in connection with the burglary.”
I sat down.
My hands went cold.
“Did they find the notebook?”
“Not yet.”
My relief disappeared.
Margaret continued.
“Investigators believe she passed it to Richard.”
I looked toward the mountains.
“Then Richard has everything Thomas wrote.”
“Possibly.”
I closed my eyes.
“Can he use it against me?”
“Not if we act carefully. Most of the important documents have authenticated copies in my files.”
I exhaled.
Thomas had protected me again.
But the danger wasn't over.
That afternoon, Vanessa arrived.
Alone.
She stood outside the gate screaming my name.
I went onto the porch.
“What do you want?”
She pointed toward the house.
“You got my mother arrested!”
I folded my arms.
“Your mother entered my home without permission and stole my property.”
“She was trying to help us!”
“By committing a crime?”
Vanessa's face turned red.
“You're destroying this family!”
I stared at her.
“No, Vanessa.”
My voice remained calm.
“Your family is doing that.”
She stepped closer to the gate.
“Do you have any idea what happens if Richard loses his company?”
I shook my head.
“That's not my responsibility.”
She laughed bitterly.
“You think you're safe up there?”
My stomach tightened.
“What does that mean?”
She glanced toward the trees.
Then smiled.
“Thomas made a lot of enemies.”
I felt a chill.
“Are you threatening me?”
She stepped backward.
“I'm telling you to be careful.”
Then she climbed into her car.
And drove away.
I stood on the porch long after she disappeared.
That evening, Emily returned with groceries.
We cooked dinner together.
For the first time since Thomas died, I laughed while preparing a meal.
Emily told me stories about his terrible singing.
His stubbornness.
The way he insisted every contractor take a proper lunch break.
I cried.
Then laughed again.
After dinner, she handed me a small envelope.
“I almost forgot.”
I looked at her.
“What's this?”
“Thomas gave it to me for safekeeping.”
I opened it.
Inside was a storage key.
And a handwritten note.
“Leah, if the notebook disappears, the truth is waiting in the place where we first planted roses.”
My breath caught.
The rose garden.
Our old home.
May you like
The property Jared and Vanessa still lived in.
And beneath those roses, Thomas had hidden something nobody else knew existed.
