Chapter 8 - The Hidden Footage
Denise’s office was a chaotic mess of legal pads, empty coffee cups, and sprawling blueprints.
We had spent the last twelve hours analyzing every frame of the street camera footage she had subpoenaed.
"The theft occurred at exactly 11:15 PM," Denise stated, pointing a laser pen at the projector screen.
We watched the grainy, black-and-white video of the pharmacy's rear alleyway.
At 11:17 PM, the back door propped open, and the person in my red jacket walked out with the heavy duffel bag.
"Look at the height," my father pointed out, leaning closer to the screen.
"Claire is five-foot-four, but that person is easily six feet tall."
It was clearly Derek wearing my clothes, but the surgical mask and dark alley made it impossible to prove his identity conclusively.
"It's circumstantial," Denise sighed heavily. "A jury might buy it, but a judge won't grant an emergency custody reversal based on a height estimate."
I buried my face in my hands, feeling the last shred of hope slip away.
Derek was going to win.
He was going to take my house, my money, and my little girl.
Then, my father’s phone rang, shattering the suffocating silence of the office.
He answered it on speakerphone, looking confused by the unknown caller ID.
"Mr. Bennett?" a nervous, trembling voice asked through the static.
"This is Sarah, the overnight technician at Claire's pharmacy."
I sat up straight, instantly recognizing the voice of the young girl I had mentored for two years.
"Sarah, what's wrong?" I asked quickly.
"Claire, I saw the news about your arrest, and I know you didn't do it," Sarah cried softly.
She explained that she had been hiding in the breakroom during the robbery, terrified of the intruder.
"I was too scared to tell the police because the man saw me, and he threatened to kill my family if I talked."
"But I recorded him on my phone when he took off his mask in the hallway," she confessed.
My heart hammered in my chest.
"Do you have the video, Sarah?" Denise demanded, her lawyer instincts firing on all cylinders.
May you like
"Yes, but you have to hurry," Sarah panicked.
"He's here at my apartment right now, and he's breaking down the door."
