Chapter 4 - The camera was not there for Marcella
The camera belonged to the foundation’s insurer.
That sounded less dramatic than everyone expected.
Good.
The DeLuca Legacy Foundation held fundraising events involving:
Donated jewelry.
Rare wine.
Luxury travel packages.
Art.
Signed sports memorabilia.
Most items were displayed, auctioned, then transferred to buyers.
Three months earlier, our outside auditor noticed inconsistencies.
Not missing millions.
Inventory.
Eight donated auction items across four events were marked:
withdrawn by donor
or
damaged before sale.
The supporting documentation was weak.
Estimated combined fair value:
About $118,000.
Could be sloppy paperwork.
Could be theft.
Could be donors genuinely changing their minds.
The insurer recommended tighter custody procedures and temporary covert inventory monitoring in storage areas during events.
Miriam approved.
Our foundation board approved through a restricted security committee.
I had known additional cameras were being installed.
I did not know exact locations.
That separation was deliberate.
No one wanted the foundation chairman—me—directing surveillance based on personal suspicion.
Marcus placed one camera in the wine cellar because high-value bottles and auction lots temporarily passed through the adjoining service alcove.
It recorded only when motion occurred.
No audio on some settings?
This model had audio.
That created privacy questions.
Miriam handled them.
The device had been running for seventeen days.
Marcella did not know.
Neither did I.
The footage did not instantly become admissible criminal evidence.
Investigators preserved it.
Insurer retained its own forensic copy.
Chain of custody.
Timestamps.
No one sat in my study watching the entire thing for entertainment.
I wanted to.
Miriam said:
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because you are a witness, a father, foundation chair, and potential civil defendant for what you did to Marcella.”
The cart.
The arm grab.
Right.
May you like
“You do not need four roles contaminating each other.”
I hated competent people.
