Police initially believed Naomi had been targeted through a malicious social media stalker. Helen, however, disagreed. Using her technical expertise, she traced the camera angle back across the property lines to my rooftop solar array. Panel number six was angled directly at Naomi’s second-floor window.
Every time Helen damaged the system, the private livestream went offline. Every time BrightCurrent repaired it, the feed returned.
I looked down at the thick red paint coating my expensive solar panels. “You were protecting Naomi.”
Helen shook her head slowly. “Not only Naomi.”
She revealed that she had detected fourteen separate signals originating from solar installations scattered throughout Brookhaven. Together, they formed an extensive, hidden private wireless network. My roof was serving as the central relay hub.
When my array went offline, the entire neighborhood surveillance network stopped transmitting. That was why she had repeatedly targeted my house—not to punish me, but to cut power to every hidden device operating in the shadows around us.
Before Officer Alvarez could process the full scope of Helen’s claims, a white BrightCurrent service truck turned sharply into my driveway.
I had not called the company for service.
The driver stepped out of the vehicle before it had even stopped rolling completely. Travis Morrow looked up at the dripping red paint on the roof, then glanced over at Helen sitting in handcuffs by the patrol car.
“What did she do?” Travis asked, his tone deceptively casual.