Chapter 13 - The Unseen Eye
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Valeria blinked, confused by her husband’s sudden shift in posture. "Fernando, darling? What is it? The officers need to let the paramedics work."
Fernando didn't look at her. He kept his eyes fixed on the senior police officer.
"Do not close that report, Officer," Fernando said, his voice dropping into an icy, dangerous register that made the hair on the back of Valeria’s neck stand up.
"Fernando, what are you talking about?" Valeria chuckled nervously, trying to grab his hand again. "You're in shock, my love. You aren't thinking clearly—"
"Quiet," Fernando commanded. He didn't raise his voice, but the absolute authority in his tone caused Valeria to freeze in her tracks.
Fernando turned slowly and looked his wife dead in the eye. The warmth, affection, and love that had filled his gaze for the past five years were completely gone. In their place was a look of pure, unadulterated revulsion.
"You think I know nothing about what happens in my own house, Valeria," Fernando said, stepping toward her. "You think I am so preoccupied with my business that I am blind to the world around me."
"I... I don't know what you mean," Valeria stammered, backing away slightly, her heels clicking against the blood-stained floor.
Fernando raised his right hand and pointed toward the high wall above the staircase landing.
There, nestled perfectly between the intricate crown molding and the golden frame of an antique oil painting, was a tiny, glossy black hemisphere. A micro-dome camera lens, no larger than a coin, gleaming under the ambient light.
"Three weeks ago," Fernando explained, his voice echoing through the massive foyer, "I noticed strange discrepancies in my personal accounts. Valuables were missing from my safe. I didn't want to believe it, so I hired a private European security firm."
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Valeria felt the blood drain entirely from her body. Her lungs refused to take in air.
"They installed state-of-the-art, covert high-definition cameras in every hallway, every landing, and every public room in this house," Fernando revealed. "Directly wired to a secure, encrypted cloud server inside my study."
