Chapter 2

1

When I opened my eyes, a harsh white light was streaming through the bedroom curtains.

On the hardwood floor sat four unopened cardboard boxes―a Ring camera system.

Yes, today was the day we installed the surveillance. In my past life, I personally installed these cameras in the living room, the hallway, and the porch, acting like a dutiful housewife, telling Liam it was “for security.”

He smiled and agreed. Then, he copied the access key and gave it to his father, Arthur.

I knew this because, after I died, my soul lingered in that house. I watched Arthur sitting on the sofa, repeatedly replaying footage of me changing clothes in the dressing room on his phone.

This time, I bought three sets.

The first set, a standard Ring system, I installed in plain sight and generously shared access with Liam. This was the bait.

The second set, an Arlo micro-camera system, consisted of three grain-of-rice-sized lenses. I hid one behind the dial of the hallway clock, one in the base of the living room floor lamp, and one inside the hinge of the bedroom door frame.

The third set was the most critical. Two phones―one hidden in the lining of my handbag, the other fixed in a blind spot above the wardrobe vent. Both phones recorded simultaneously, backing each other up.

My fingers did not tremble while I did this.

The fear had been burned away after my death. All that remained was cold, precise calculation.

At three in the afternoon, I called Liam into the living room.

“Someone has been getting into the house lately,” I said, trying to make my tone sound panicked. “When I got back from running errands last week, the sliding door on the balcony was unlocked. Liam, are you sure your dad locked it when he came over?”

Liam was scrolling on his phone on the sofa and didn’t even look up. “You definitely just forgot to lock it.”

“I didn’t forget,” I stared directly into his eyes. “Besides, I installed cameras.”

I pointed to the Ring camera at the door.

“The password is your birthday. You can check it whenever you want. I gave your dad a copy, too.”

Liam looked up, and for a split second, there was a flicker of panic in his eyes. He quickly suppressed it, masking it with an impatient expression.

“You’re being overly dramatic.”

“I’m scared,” I said.

That sentence was true. I was indeed scared. But I wasn’t afraid of any burglar.

Liam hesitated for two seconds, took my phone, and noted the shared password. His fingers hovered over the screen for less than three seconds before he swiped away―he had no intention of ever checking the footage.

He didn’t know that his finger had slipped, accidentally triggering the playback function.

A frame flashed across the screen: under the hallway clock, Linda was wearing my silk pajamas, chatting and laughing with a strange man.

Liam retracted his hand quickly. But he had already seen it.

He didn’t ask. He didn’t plan to ask.

That was Liam. As long as the truth wasn’t shoved directly into his face, he could pretend to know nothing.

Good. Then I would make sure he stayed “ignorant” until he no longer had the luxury of pretending.