Chapter 214

After mulling it over, I decided to check out some other apps on Briar's phone.

The internet's a wild place these days, with people specifically targeting and luring kids.

I had to make sure Briar wasn't in any danger. If something happened to her, I wouldn't be able to face Leo.

Her phone seemed normal, just the usual apps.

But when I accidentally opened her photo gallery, I was floored.

Most of the photos were ordinary, but a few were of the layout of my house.

Every room was photographed, like someone was being shown the layout of my home.

The most alarming photo was of the small courtyard where Savannah and I had seen a shadow earlier today.

Briar had climbed into that courtyard and taken clear pictures of it. Something felt very wrong.

This wasn't something a normal kid would do.

And she hadn't sent these photos to her dad, Leo, or any other contacts. The only possibility was that she sent them to that creepy smiley face.

Why would that person need to know the layout of my house and the location of the nearby courtyard?

A thought crossed my mind: that creepy smiley face might be Renee.

I put the phone back and went to find Savannah.

Savannah was startled after hearing what I found. "Could someone be hiding in that courtyard?"

"That place has been empty for ages. If someone wanted to hide, it would be the perfect spot-no one goes there, and it's deserted."

I nodded. "It's possible."

"Savannah, come with me. Let's check it out tonight without alerting anyone."

Savannah hesitated. "Caroline, let me go alone. I don't want you to get hurt."

I shook my head. "You haven't been there before. I went there a lot when I was a kid."

Savannah finally agreed, and we headed to the courtyard under the cover of night.

The alley was pitch black, and the streetlights from earlier were no longer lit.

The nearby residents were all asleep, with only the occasional sound of a cat meowing.

We stood at the courtyard gate.

I had a key ready to open the door.

As soon as I pushed the wooden door, it creaked loudly.

The courtyard was old, with many worn-out fixtures.

There was a set of stone tables and chairs in the yard.

When we got closer, we saw that the dust on them had been wiped clean. This was unusual; if no one had been there, they should have been covered in dust.

This meant someone had been there to clean it.

Just then, we heard movement from inside the house. Someone had been startled by our presence and quickly climbed over the back wall, running away.

Savannah was startled and wanted to chase after them but hesitated, looking back at me.

I waved her on and grabbed a wooden stick from the yard for protection.

Savannah then climbed over the wall and gave chase.

She returned shortly, shaking her head. "That person ran really fast. They're gone now."

"Did you see anything unusual here, Caroline?"

"No, I think they all ran off. Let's check inside."

I pushed open the house door. It was dusty inside, but there were messy footprints on the floor.

This was proof that someone had been inside. Savannah examined the footprints and said, "Looks like three people have been staying here."

"Three people?"

A chill ran down my spine. Our suspicions from our evening walk were correct.

"Someone's been living here, and this must be connected to Renee."

Savannah frowned and nodded. "I'll inform Mr. Castillo right away. If these people know the layout of our house, they could come over anytime."

"We need to be on guard. There are kids and elderly people at home. We can't take any chances."

I nodded. "Go ahead and make the arrangements. Thanks."

We left the courtyard and locked the door.

In the darkness, the house looked like a gaping monster, eerily terrifying.

I thought moving back to Suncrest City would mean a peaceful life, but these people kept causing trouble.

After returning home, I checked on the kids and found them all safe in their rooms, which was a relief.

Savannah said, "You should sleep. I'll keep watch tonight."

I shook my head and sat on the couch. "I'm not sleepy. I'll stay here. You go rest, and we can take turns."

Savannah refused, so I pretended to be angry. "Are you disobeying me? Nothing will happen in the first half of the night. Go sleep, and I'll wake you later."

"We'll keep watch until morning. I doubt anyone would dare break in during the day."

Savannah finally agreed and went to her room.

Sitting alone in the living room, I couldn't help but feel scared.

Who knew how long those people had been around? If they had broken in earlier, Kelly and the kids would have been defenseless.

And I was in Skyview City at the time, unable to protect them.

"Thank goodness nothing happened."

I sighed in relief.

Around 2 or 3 AM, Savannah came out to take over.

I checked the time. "It's still early. Why don't you sleep a bit more?"

Savannah shook her head. "No, you need to rest. Your body hasn't fully recovered."

We switched places, and I went to bed.

But I couldn't sleep, tossing and turning, thinking about those footprints.

At dawn, I got up and went with Savannah to buy a security system.

If anyone tried to break into our yard at night, the infrared sensors would alert us.

Royce also arranged for two people to keep watch near our house, ready to respond at any time.

Kelly asked why we were going to such lengths. I didn't tell her about last night's discovery.

"We're all women here. If two intruders broke in, we wouldn't stand a chance. I thought a security system would make us safer."

Thankfully, Kelly didn't question it and agreed. "You're right. We have kids here. If something happened, it would be a big problem."

After installing the security system, Savannah and I went to the local office to check who had been in that courtyard.

"Let's see if the nearby cameras caught anything."

Unfortunately, the cameras only captured fleeting shadows, not clear faces.

Even the shadows were barely visible when slowed down.

Those people moved quickly and knew the camera locations well.

It couldn't have been a coincidence.