CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Diana sat in her car in the parking lot of a small shopping center about ten miles from the grocery store.
Her hands trembled slightly as she held Melissa's phone in her hand.
The device felt warm in her palms, as if it contained some kind of vital energy that she was about to steal.
The screen had locked itself, but Diana had watched Melissa enter her passcode during one of her surveillance sessions at the coffee shop.
Diana opened the settings menu first, navigating through the options with the careful attention of someone who wasn't entirely comfortable with technology but had done enough research to know what she was looking for.
YouTube, above all else, had been a godsend.
She needed to disable the location tracking and "Find My iPhone" features before Melissa could use them to locate her stolen device.
But she was able to get it done without much trouble.
Her limited technical skills made every step uncertain, and she found herself second-guessing whether she was disabling the correct features.
But it was over quicker than she’d anticipated.
She turned off location services and signed out of Melissa's iCloud account, effectively cutting off the phone's connection to any tracking services.
Diana felt a wave of relief as she completed these steps, knowing that Melissa would no longer be able to ping the device remotely.
Next, she opened the contacts app and began scrolling through the list of names and numbers.
There were the usual entries she'd expect to find: family members, friends, work contacts, service providers.
Diana took screenshots of the entire contact list, wanting to preserve the information even if something happened to the physical phone.
She found Kate Wise listed simply as "Mom" with both a cell phone and home phone number. Allen Goldman was listed as "Allen" with a cell number and what appeared to be a work extension. Terry Goldman, whom Diana knew to be Melissa's husband, was listed as "Terry" and marked as an emergency contact.
Diana opened the calendar app and found it filled with appointments, reminders, and family events.
She could see doctor's appointments for Michelle, work deadlines for Melissa's freelance projects, and social gatherings that painted a detailed picture of the family's routine.
There were also several entries related to Kate's upcoming wedding: dress fittings, cake tastings, and venue meetings.
The photo gallery was a treasure trove of intelligence.
Diana scrolled through dozens of pictures of family gatherings, candid shots of daily life, and what appeared to be recent photos of Kate playing with her young son, Michael.
She could see Kate's home in the background of many photos, getting a clear sense of the layout and surroundings.
As Diana worked her way through the phone's contents, she noticed the screen kept lighting up with incoming calls and text notifications.
All from Melissa herself, desperately trying to reach her missing device.
Diana had silenced the ringer, but she could see the persistent attempts to make contact.
The phone buzzed again with an incoming call from "Me" - Melissa calling from another phone. Diana let it go to voicemail, then checked to see that this was the tenth attempted call in the past hour. Melissa was clearly frantic about the missing device.
Diana opened the notes app and found shopping lists, work reminders, and what appeared to be planning notes for Kate's wedding.
One note contained a detailed timeline for the wedding day, including addresses for the ceremony venue, reception location, and the hotel where out-of-town guests would be staying.
The messaging app revealed text conversations with family members, friends, and work contacts.
Diana scrolled through recent exchanges, getting insights into the family's concerns, plans, and daily communication patterns.
There were messages between Melissa and Kate discussing wedding preparations, conversations with Terry about household logistics (and one very flirty exchange that Diana thought was going to get very graphic in nature before petering out), and exchanges with friends about childcare arrangements.
Diana felt like she was reading someone's private diary, gaining access to intimate details about Kate Wise's family that would have taken months of surveillance to uncover. The phone contained a complete map of their personal lives, relationships, and routines.
She opened the email app and quickly scrolled through recent messages, taking screenshots of anything that seemed relevant to her surveillance objectives.
There were work emails about freelance projects, personal correspondence with friends and family members, and official communications about wedding vendors and arrangements.
The phone buzzed again with another attempted call from Melissa.
Diana realized she couldn't keep the device much longer without arousing suspicion.
She needed to return it in a way that would seem natural and coincidental, maintaining her cover while having extracted as much useful information as possible.
Diana scrolled back through the contacts list until she found Terry's number.
This would be the perfect opportunity to insert herself into the family's circle in a helpful, non-threatening way.
She would position herself as a Good Samaritan who had accidentally picked up the phone during the confusion at the grocery store.
She took a deep breath and dialed Terry's number, watching as the call connected.
"Hello?" A man's voice answered, sounding slightly distracted.
"Hi, is this Terry Goldman?" Diana asked, injecting a note of friendly concern into her voice.
"Yes, this is Terry. Who's calling?"
"My name is Diana, and I think I accidentally picked up your wife's phone at the grocery store this morning. There was a bit of a collision in the parking lot, and in all the confusion of cleaning up spilled groceries, I must have grabbed her phone by mistake."
"Oh wow, really?" Terry's voice brightened with relief. "Melissa has been going crazy trying to find that thing for the last half an hour or so. She's been calling it and searching everywhere."
Diana laughed, hoping she sounded appropriately embarrassed. "I feel terrible about it. I didn't realize I had it until I got home and found an iPhone tucked in with my crackers. I’m so terribly sorry.”
"Oh, no worries. She’ll be thrilled to know it’s been found." Terry paused. "Where did you say this happened?"
"At the Kroger on Broad Street, in the parking lot. I was carrying too many bags and ran right into her. We both ended up on our hands and knees picking up canned goods and produce." Diana laughed again. "It was quite a scene… and she was so lovely to help."
"That sounds like something that would happen to Melissa," Terry said with obvious affection. "She's always trying to help people, even when she's the one who needs help."
"She was so sweet about the whole thing. Really gracious, even though I made such a mess." Diana felt pleased with how naturally the conversation was flowing. "I'd love to get her phone back to her as soon as possible. I know how stressful it must be to be without it."
"Absolutely. Where are you located? I could come pick it up, or you could drop it by our house if that's easier."
"I don't mind bringing it by," Diana said quickly. "I feel responsible for the mix-up, so it's the least I can do. I’m heading out again in about fifteen minutes, anyway."
Terry gave her their address, which Diana already knew from her surveillance but pretended to write down. "Well, I suppose I’ll be seeing you in about forty minutes or so. Again… my apologies.”
"No need to apologize. Melissa just ran out to pick up our daughter from daycare, but she should be back within the hour. I'll be here waiting."
"Perfect." Diana ended the call and allowed herself a moment of satisfaction. The operation had gone even better than she'd hoped. Not only had she successfully extracted valuable intelligence from Melissa's phone, but she was now being invited directly into their home.
Diana started her car and pulled out of the shopping center parking lot, already anticipating the next phase of her plan.
Meeting Terry in person would give her additional insights into the family dynamics, and returning the phone would establish her as a trustworthy, helpful person rather than a threat.
The game was progressing exactly as she had envisioned, with each step bringing her closer to Kate Wise and her family. Soon, Diana would be positioned right in the middle of the family that had ruined her life and brought her so much grief for so long.