After I took a shower yesterday, I went to my closet to pick out some clothes. After it slipped, it fell to the floor. I was astonished to notice a random phone recording on a lower shelf that lasted more than 18 minutes when I bent down to pick it up. Even though I was afraid, I decided to view the movie again.
It was just me at first. As usual, I strolled in and out of the room, humming, covered in a towel, and talking to myself. But after eleven minutes, the screen went black and I heard a voice utter something I couldn’t quite make out. I made the sound louder.
“You think no one can see you… But I do.
I felt like my heart sunk. It was a deep, rugged, and calm voice, yet it wasn’t familiar. It didn’t sound like a joke. It sounded like a warning. I put the phone on the edge of the bed like it was dangerous, then stepped back and tightened my towel over me. I had a lot of things I wanted to know. Who put it there? How long had it been recording? And how the hell did that get into my closet?
I don’t live with anyone. I don’t live with anyone else, like a spouse or roommate. Just myself and my cat, Tofu. The floors in my apartment are old and creaky, and the layout is a little weird. Even though it’s not a particularly safe place, I always lock my doors. All the time.
My heart was racing as I picked up the phone with a tissue and turned it off. I wasn’t sure if I should call the police, the building manager, or my cousin Zaria, who lived close by and was adept at solving problems. Zaria is my choice.
Twenty minutes later, she strolled in still wearing her work scrubs, and her frizzy hair looked more like a nest than a hairstyle. “Okay,” she said softly as she went inside and locked the door behind her. “Begin at the beginning.”
I showed her the video again. Her face grew tight as we heard the voice.
“Do you know that voice?” she said.
“No.” I’ve been doing a lot of thinking.
Zaria took the phone apart. “Only the camera app, no lock screen, and no password.” It looks like it has been reset. This is either very unprofessional or very planned.
We decided not to call the police right away. Since there was no forced entry, no known suspect, and only a frightening film, they didn’t have much to work with. Instead, we looked at every room in my flat. The kitchen cupboards, the closets, under the bed, and even under the couch. There is nothing else wrong.
But something wasn’t right. I moved my jewelry box a little bit. Not open, not missing anything, simply moved. Like someone had touched it.
That night, I didn’t get a lot of sleep. Every squeak sounded like someone walking. There seemed to be a person hidden in every shade.
The next day, I took the phone to a repair shop near my house. Sohrab, the tech guy, plugged it in and started to dig. “There’s only that one video on here.” But this model is a cheap burner. You can get them in sets. No SIM, no Wi-Fi. Someone put this here so they wouldn’t be found.
He stopped then. “Wait a minute. There is an odd file in the system logs.
He turned the screen toward me. A group of folders with dates on them. There were a few days between each one, and they went back almost a month.
“But you said there was only one video,” I said.
“There is only one file saved,” he said. “These folders make it look like something else was here before. Things were taken away.
“Can you get them back?” I inquired.
He smiled like I had just asked him to do something. “Two days, please.”
Those were the two longest days I’ve ever lived. I stayed at Zaria’s house all night. She lived in an apartment with someone else and had three pets. She also had cameras that beeped when someone walked past them. I felt safer, but I was also embarrassed. I kept asking myself, “Did I do something to make this happen?” Did I not pay attention?
Sohrab called on the second night. “I got something.” You have to come in.
When we came back to his store, he showed me three movies that had been fixed. There is one from the bathroom mirror, one from my bedroom, and one from my kitchen. Weeks passed between each of these. It looked like someone had put the phone down, let it record, and then took it with them because all of the shots were taken from unusual angles.
I was sick. This happened more than once. Someone was watching me. Keeping note of what I do every day. And I had no idea.
But then something happened that I didn’t see coming.
Sohrab stopped the video of the kitchen. “Do you know this person?”
In the corner, a shadow went over the frame. For a little while. But that was enough. The hair, the sweater, and the look.
I did knew him.
Lachlan.
We went out two years ago. Things were going well for a while, but then they turned weird. He didn’t deal with the breakup well. Came to work with me once. They put roses on my windshield for weeks. He gradually faded away and blocked me on everything. I haven’t heard from him since.
We went straight to the police with Zaria. This time, we didn’t only have a weird phone. Someone might have been stalking us. We handed them the cassettes, Lachlan’s name, and anything else we could think of.
Two days later, an officer called. “We spoke with Mr. Lachlan Farrow. He says he hasn’t seen you in more than a year and denies everything. He didn’t break in, and he gave us an alibi for last week. If you don’t have any proof, it’s your word against his.
I couldn’t believe it. The shadow in the video wasn’t enough proof?
Zaria, who was always a hurricane, didn’t want to hear it. “Then we get proof,” she said. “We’ll get him ourselves.”
We installed a small camera system that is hidden, turns on when it sees activity, and saves video to the cloud. One is in the closet, one is in the living room, and one is by the door. Then I moved back in. I’m scared, but I’m going to do it.
I got a message three nights later at 3:14 a.m.
Closet Camera: Movement Noticed
When I opened the app, my hands shook. The video showed my closet door slowly opening. Someone with a torch and a hood came in. He knelt down, put another phone on the shelf, turned around, and left.
The angle finally gave us what we needed: a perspective from the side.
It was definitely Lachlan.
We gave the video to the police right away. This time, there was no way to argue with it. They arrested him later that same day. They found a lot of old phones, a map of my building, and a notebook in his apartment. There were a lot of notes inside regarding when I went to work, when I had showers, and what I dressed.
But here’s the twist I didn’t expect.
Lachlan wasn’t alone.
He had a younger relative who worked in the same building as me. A maintenance intern. The boy, Moises, was friendly and always said hey when we passed each other in the hallway. He possessed the keys. He had been letting Lachlan in for weeks in exchange for money and gifts, not knowing that Lachlan was smitten with me and keeping an eye on me.
Moises claimed he thought it was just about “getting things going again.” That Lachlan missed me and wanted to know how I was doing. He cried when the police asked him questions. He replied he didn’t know it had gone that far.
I believed in him.
He definitely lost his job. He also sent me a three-page letter to say he was sorry. Taking responsibility for what he did. He swore he would never be able to forgive himself.
And oddly enough, I wasn’t mad. I was… sad. That person might be utilized like that. That someone could use melancholy as a weapon.
Lachlan is being charged with something and has a restraining order against him. He probably won’t go to jail, but he needs help. I hope he does.
How about me?
I got a better lock. I got a new alarm. I placed Tofu in a little leash and began taking him on walks to gently get my space back.
What happened to me scared me. It made me feel insecure in every way. But it also showed me who really cared for me. Zaria was just as angry as ever. Sohrab, who didn’t even ask me for money in the end. And even Moises, in a bizarre, twisted way, because he told the truth in the end.
The lesson?
Trust your gut. If something doesn’t feel right, it probably isn’t. And don’t forget to check your closet.
Thanks for reading all the way through. And kindly share this content as well. You never know who needs a reminder to check their area again.
