learn later, about how they had handled the property owner,
how they’d sent her packing off to some hotel while they kept the good life running exactly as they wanted it.
At nine o’clock sharp, my locksmith went to work on the front door, rear doors, and garage access locks. Within fifteen minutes, every single lock on the six-hundred-thousand-dollar estate had been replaced with heavy-duty commercial smart locks, the old keys rendered instantly, permanently useless.
The front door unlocked under my own hand this time, and I stepped into the foyer, accompanied by two private security guards and a uniformed police officer, the click of the new lock behind us sounding almost ceremonial.
Julian, Kloe, and their shocked dinner guests rushed into the hallway holding wine glasses, the party atmosphere collapsing instantly into confusion and alarm.
“What is the meaning of this?” Julian screamed, his face turning red, scotch sloshing
