Chapter 9 - Caught on Camera
Two Columbus police officers burst through the front door, guns unholstered, taking in the chaotic scene: the shattered lamp, Candice weeping hysterically on the floor with a bleeding forehead, and Gabriel standing over her.
"Step away from her! Hands where we can see them!" the lead officer ordered.
Gabriel calmly raised his hands, keeping his composure. "Officers, I am complying fully. Please check my front chest pocket."
"Don't listen to him! He threw me against the wall!" Candice sobbed, rocking back and forth. "He found out I spent money on groceries and lost his mind!"
The second officer restrained Gabriel and reached into his coat pocket, pulling out a small black remote device.
"What is this?" the officer asked.
"That is the receiver for the high-definition, audio-enabled security camera mounted inside the smoke detector directly above your head," Gabriel said clearly. "It broadcasts live to a cloud server monitored by my legal team and private investigator."
Candice’s sobbing abruptly stopped. Her face drained of all color.
Gabriel turned his head toward the ceiling camera. "Officer, if you access the cloud feed from five minutes ago, you will see Ms. Lawson deliberately hit her own head against the doorframe, tear her blouse, and smash that lamp while threatening to frame me for domestic assault."
The lead officer looked up at the tiny pinhole lens in the smoke detector, then down at Candice. He pulled out his department radio. "Dispatcher, run a quick review on unit feed 4B. We have surveillance footage on site."
Within two minutes, the officer listened to the audio playing back through his earpiece: “Arthur was an old fool who died like a dog... You're going to jail tonight, Gabriel...”
The officer lowered his radio and looked at Candice with disgust.
"Ma'am, get up," the officer commanded coldly.
"No! You don't understand! He forced me!" Candice shrieked, backing away on her hands and knees. "It's my house! He's abusing me!"
"Ma'am, stand up right now or you will be charged with filing a false police report and obstruction," the officer warned, pulling out his handcuffs.
At that moment, Sarah Jenkins walked through the open front door, carrying a thick leather briefcase.
"Good evening, officers," Sarah said smoothly, presenting her credential card. "I am Gabriel Lawson’s legal counsel. I am serving Ms. Candice Lawson with an emergency restraining order, an order of immediate eviction from this premises, and a preliminary notice of financial asset seizure."
Candice looked at the handcuffs, then at Sarah, and finally at Gabriel, who stood tall and untouched. Her entire scheme had crumbled in less than fifteen minutes.
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"You ruined my life!" Candice screamed as the officer pulled her arms behind her back and clicked the steel cuffs shut.
"No, Candice," Gabriel said quietly as they led her out into the flashing red-and-blue lights of the night. "You did that all by yourself."
