Chapter 19 - THE TRUTH ON THE CAMERA
They put handcuffs on me.
Mark shouted.
"My father didn't kill anyone!"
Sarah stepped forward.
"He's lying."
The officer pointed his weapon at her.
"Ma'am, step back."
"That's my father."
"We have evidence."
"What evidence?"
The officer held up a tablet.
A video played.
It showed me entering the warehouse.
Then walking toward Sarah.
Then holding a gun.
The footage ended with a gunshot.
Mark stared.
"It's fake."
The officer shook his head.
"It was recovered from the security system."
I looked at Daniel.
He smiled.
Then I remembered something.
The birthday camera.
The red light.
The recording.
Vanessa.
I looked at Mark.
"The camera."
"What?"
"The original camera."
Mark understood.
"The footage."
Sarah looked confused.
"The birthday party?"
"Yes."
I turned toward the officer.
"The camera recorded everything."
"What does that prove?"
"It proves Vanessa pushed the sculpture."
"That has nothing to do with Sarah's murder."
I looked at Sarah.
"Maybe it does."
Sarah's eyes widened.
"Thomas..."
I understood.
The birthday camera hadn't just recorded the sculpture.
It had been recording all afternoon.
Including conversations.
Including Vanessa.
Including Daniel.
Including the people who had entered the house.
Including the moment someone had accessed the laptop.
Mark pulled out his phone.
"I backed up the footage."
Daniel's smile disappeared.
"What?"
Mark held up the phone.
"I never deleted it."
The officer looked at him.
"Play it."
Mark did.
The video showed the birthday party.
Then Vanessa.
Then the sculpture.
Then the conversation after the footage ended.
Daniel's voice could be heard.
Clear.
He had been standing outside the house.
Talking to Vanessa through an open window.
"You have until tonight."
Vanessa had answered:
"I won't hurt Lily."
Daniel said:
"You don't have to."
Then he mentioned the warehouse.
Then Sarah.
Then me.
The officer stared at the screen.
"That's him."
Daniel turned and ran.
Two officers tackled him.
Michael chased after another man.
Sarah held Lily.
Mark stood beside me.
The officer removed my handcuffs.
"Mr. Bennett..."
I looked at him.
"I'm sorry."
I nodded.
But the story wasn't over.
Because the camera had captured something else.
Something none of us had noticed.
A face in the background.
A man entering the house.
The timestamp showed three minutes before the crystal horse broke.
Sarah leaned closer.
"Pause."
Mark paused.
She stared at the screen.
Then she whispered:
"Jonathan."
The man from the photograph.
The supposed dead policyholder.
The man Daniel had claimed was dead.
He was alive.
And he had been inside Mark's house.
I looked at Daniel.
He was being dragged away.
He smiled.
Then shouted:
"You still don't know who he is!"
Jonathan stepped forward.
Everyone raised their weapons.
He didn't run.
He simply looked at Lily.
Then at me.
And said:
"Thomas."
I stared.
"How do you know my name?"
May you like
He smiled.
"Because I'm your brother."
