Chapter 8 - The Person Across the Street.
Ethan was out of Martin's office before Rebecca finished telling him not to drive recklessly.
He called Claire through the car system.
"Close the blinds and stay away from the windows."
Claire immediately heard the fear in his voice.
"What's wrong?"
"Someone just took a picture of you from outside."
Her silence lasted one second too long.
"There was a man across the street earlier."
Ethan tightened his grip on the steering wheel.
"Did you recognize him?"
"No."
He called the neighborhood security service and asked them to preserve exterior camera footage.
By the time he reached home, the black sedan was gone.
Rebecca arrived soon afterward.
She had no interest in guessing who had taken the photograph.
Instead, she focused on what could be documented.
The email.
The time stamp.
The previous photograph.
Vivian's statements.
The incomplete property packet.
"Fear makes people fill gaps with assumptions."
Rebecca placed a notebook on the kitchen table.
"We use facts."
Claire appreciated that more than Ethan did.
He wanted a name.
He got one an hour later.
A neighbor's camera showed the black sedan parked across the street.
The driver stepped out briefly.
Claire recognized him from Vivian's annual charity dinner.
His name was Paul Rennick.
He ran a private administrative service that handled document delivery, background checks, and records retrieval for local businesses.
Martin recognized the company name immediately.
"That's the service on the receipt you found."
Rebecca called the number printed on the old receipt.
Paul answered.
She identified herself as counsel for Ethan and Claire and asked why he had been photographing the family.
Paul became defensive.
He said he had been hired to confirm occupancy and household routines for an asset review.
He insisted he had not entered the property or contacted anyone directly.
"Who hired you?"
Rebecca asked.
Paul would not say.
"Then stop all work involving my clients and preserve your records."
He agreed faster than Ethan expected.
Ten minutes later, Paul called back.
His tone was different.
"I was told this was a family financial review."
Rebecca put the call on speaker.
"By whom?"
"Vivian Mercer."
Claire closed her eyes.
Paul explained that Vivian had asked him to document whether Claire was "managing the household independently" while Ethan worked.
The assignment included public observations only.
Paul sounded increasingly uncomfortable as he described it.
"She said the reports were for a private family trust."
Rebecca asked him to send copies of his invoices and written instructions.
He agreed.
The documents arrived before dinner.
One instruction stood out.
ASSESS WHETHER CLAIRE MERCER APPEARS CAPABLE OF INDEPENDENT HOUSEHOLD MANAGEMENT.
Another line requested photographs of unscheduled medical visits, financial errands, and visitors to the home.
Claire stared at the screen.
"She was trying to create a story about me."
Ethan sat beside her.
"A story for who?"
Rebecca scrolled through the invoices.
Then she stopped.
One billing code matched a firm she knew.
"Not for a bank."
Ethan looked at her.
"Then who?"
Rebecca turned the laptop toward them.
"A family mediation consultant."
Claire looked confused.
May you like
Rebecca's expression had gone serious.
"Someone was preparing for a dispute before you even knew there was one."
