Chapter 7 - Inside the Casing
As the technician removed the ceramic base with surgical precision, the full extent of the device was laid bare across a sterile white mat.
Inside the hollow body of the porcelain hare was an intricate web of modified printed circuit boards. Embedded in the rabbit’s left painted eye was a high-resolution pinhole lens, angled precisely toward the center of Lily’s mattress. Opposite that, hidden behind a decorative floral relief, was an ultra-sensitive omnidirectional microphone and a miniature voice-coil speaker.
"The thermal burns on the girl make sense now," the forensic specialist explained, pointing his pen at a scorched capacitor bank nestled near the power supply. "He drew power directly from the wall outlet without proper voltage step-down regulation. When the transmitting module operated at high data-transfer rates, the entire lower casing heated up to over 140 degrees Fahrenheit. Because the unit lacked proper ventilation, toxic solvent vapors from the adhesive and flux were continuously baked off and pushed into the surrounding air."
He turned the casing over, shining a pencil beam into the base.
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"It was acting like a localized radiant heater emitting noxious fumes directly at her bedside level," the specialist added. "If she slept without a duvet, the heat radiation alone would cause second-degree contact burns over a period of several hours. And the chemical vapor would cause immediate dermal and respiratory toxicity."
I leaned against the doorframe, my knees buckling. Marcus hadn't just been watching her; he had been poisoning her every single night while she lay paralyzed with fear.
