The HOA President smiled wider.
“There seems to be a problem.”
The Homeowner looked at her.
“You know something about that?”
She shrugged.
“Your illegal equipment has never been reliable.”
His eyes narrowed.
That was too specific.
The camera had worked thirty minutes earlier.
He checked another feed.
Driveway camera.
Offline.
Mailbox camera.
Offline.
Front-door camera.
Offline.
The HOA President saw his expression.
“Technical trouble?”
The Homeowner said nothing.
His stomach tightened.
She had planned this.
Not simply the rock.
The cameras.
Maybe she had jammed them.
Or knew when the system would be offline.
He looked at the neighbors.
Several were still watching.
Then the Homeowner heard a faint mechanical click above him.
The HOA President heard it too.
Both looked up.
A rectangular panel beneath the porch roof slid open.
A compact black drone lowered approximately three feet on a charging tether.
The HOA President stared.
The Homeowner’s expression changed.
He had forgotten about the backup unit.
The drone detached.
Four small rotors began spinning.
It stabilized near the ceiling.
A red light blinked.
The HOA President stepped backward.
“What is that?”
The Homeowner smiled for the first time.
“Backup security.”
The drone rotated.
A small speaker activated.
“Impact event detected.”
The HOA President stared.
The neighbors moved closer.
The drone descended to eye level.
“Primary cameras unavailable. Independent event archive active.”
The Homeowner looked at the HOA President.
Her face lost color.
“What does that mean?”
he asked.
She did not answer.
The drone projected a wireless connection request to the smart door display beside the entrance.
The screen activated.
RESTORE EVENT: 3:16:48 PM?
The Homeowner touched YES.
The HOA President suddenly moved.
She lunged toward him.
“Turn that off.”
He stepped aside.
“Why?”
“That device is recording private association business.”
“On my property.”
“You do not have permission to record me.”
“You're standing in my yard.”
The replay started.
The screen showed a wide-angle view from approximately twenty feet above the porch.
Timestamp:
3:12 p.m.
The HOA President entered frame.
Alone.
She looked toward the house.
Then toward the street.
She walked to the flower bed.
Reached down.
Selected a rock.
The watching neighbors became completely silent.
On-screen, the HOA President weighed the rock in her hand.
Then stepped backward.
Raised her arm.
Threw.
The window shattered.
The real HOA President stared at herself on the screen.
“No.”
The video continued.
After throwing the rock, she walked toward the broken window.
Looked inside.
Then returned to the garden.
She picked up the second rock.
Placed it inside her handbag.
Then stood facing the house and rehearsed something.
The drone audio was clear.
On-screen, she said softly:
“He came outside angry.”
Pause.