Chapter 9 - The Camera Ethan Forgot
Before leaving the house, Ethan had activated a small body camera beneath his jacket.
He intended to record selected moments.
Megan resisting.
Rex threatening him.
Any action that could support a self-defense claim.
He planned to delete the rest.
What he forgot was that the camera uploaded automatically to his contractor’s cloud account.
Megan knew because she had purchased the system for his business two years earlier.
The device blinked beneath his collar.
She noticed it when he leaned close at the tree.
Every threat had been recorded.
Freeze or die.
At least your funeral stays cold.
Every image of the strap.
The shovel.
The staged evidence bag.
Now Ethan grabbed the camera.
He realized she had seen it.
“You think this saves you?”
“It saves the timeline.”
He tore the device from his jacket and threw it into the snow.
Megan laughed once.
“Cloud backup.”
His expression collapsed.
Lorraine stared at him.
“You said it recorded locally.”
“It used to.”
“You idiot.”
They turned on each other instantly.
Ethan accused Lorraine of rushing the plan.
Lorraine blamed him for failing to drug Megan.
Megan continued working one arm free.
Rex loosened the final fold.
The strap dropped several inches.
Megan’s legs gave out.
She caught herself against the tree.
Ethan lunged forward.
Rex blocked him.
Lorraine grabbed the black duffel and ran toward the SUV.
The snowmobile engines grew louder.
Ethan looked between Megan and the road.
He made a decision.
He reached into his jacket and pulled out Megan’s service pistol.
She had locked it in the bedroom safe.
He must have taken it before they left.
The weapon remained pointed toward the ground.
But his finger moved inside the trigger guard.
Megan’s entire posture changed.
“Ethan.”
Her voice became the voice she used under fire.
“Finger straight.”
He looked down instinctively.
Years of hearing her correct firearm safety had conditioned him.
That one glance gave Rex time to move.
The dog slammed his shoulder into Ethan’s legs.
Ethan fell sideways into the snow.
The pistol landed several feet away.
Megan kicked it farther using her boot.
Then headlights flashed through the trees.
Colonel Hayes arrived first on a snowmobile.
May you like
Behind him were two sheriff’s deputies and Tom, the neighbor who found Megan’s coded tape.
👉 Ethan’s weapon was out of reach, but Lorraine was already driving away with the forged documents and Megan’s stolen money records.
