Chapter 1

My beachfront vacation condo had been vacant all year.

Suddenly, the smart meter linked to it sent me a notification to pay the electricity bill.

I ordered takeout and asked the delivery guy, Mike, to check on the place for me.

Mike recorded a video.

He knocked on my condo door, and a woman opened it, her face full of suspicion:

“I didn’t order takeout. You’ve got the wrong address.”

I knew, for sure, that someone was illegally squatting in my apartment.

Christmas was just around the corner, so I decided to take my family there for the holidays. I wanted to see exactly who was living in my home without permission.

I’d invested in a retirement-friendly beachfront condo and usually had the property management company handle everything.

This year, tourism was down, so I decided not to rent out the condo.

My parents had both retired this year, and I wanted them to be able to use it whenever they pleased.

But this month’s electricity records showed that the condo was using about 10 kilowatt-hours of electricity every single day.

Looking at the records, either the meter was broken, or someone was living in the condo.

I was about to call property management, but I dialed and then hung up.

What if it was an inside job by the building management?

I ordered takeout through an app and asked the delivery guy, Mike, to pretend he was delivering food and record what was happening.

Mike knocked for a while, and a middle-aged woman, Brenda, opened the door.

“We didn’t order any takeout. You’ve got the wrong address.”

Mike feigned ignorance.

“No, I’m pretty sure this is it. I’ve delivered here before. Are you the owner?”

Brenda snapped impatiently, “Mind your own damn business!”

She slammed the door shut.

I immediately booked my flight.

Someone was squatting in my home, and I was about to find out who.