Chapter 3 - The Missing Compartment
I examined the hidden drawer until my fingers hurt.
Grace was right.
At the back was a narrow groove almost impossible to notice unless you knew it was there.
Something had once been stored behind the false panel.
Now it was empty.
Victoria watched from across the room.
“Maybe Claire removed it herself.”
I turned toward her.
“You knew Claire.”
Victoria said nothing.
“You knew my wife before she died.”
Her jaw tightened.
Grace looked at Victoria.
“Tell him your maiden name.”
Victoria’s expression changed.
I stepped closer.
“What was your maiden name?”
She stared at me with pure hatred.
“Victoria Hale.”
Grace nodded.
“That name appeared in the compliance records.”
A memory surfaced.
Hale Consulting.
One of the companies Ethan had used years ago.
My stomach twisted.
“You weren’t just working for Ethan.”
Victoria lifted her chin.
“I handled administrative work.”
“You helped him move money.”
“I handled paperwork.”
“From my son’s trust?”
Her silence answered me.
I walked away before anger made me do something I would regret.
The security chief entered.
“Police are five minutes out.”
“Good.”
“And your brother is still outside the gate.”
“Keep him there.”
The man hesitated.
“There’s something else.”
He handed me a tablet.
A camera near the west wall showed another vehicle parked beyond the property line.
Its headlights were off.
“Who is that?”
“We don’t know.”
Then the vehicle suddenly moved.
It disappeared down the road.
Grace stepped beside me.
“Ethan didn’t come alone.”
Victoria laughed.
“You have no idea how deep this goes.”
I looked at her.
“Then explain it.”
She smiled.
“For two years, you thought you were the powerful one.”
“You own the estate.”
“You run the company.”
“You sign the checks.”
“But you never noticed who was standing behind you.”
My blood ran cold.
“What does that mean?”
Victoria leaned forward.
“It means Ethan doesn’t need your permission to destroy you.”
The police arrived minutes later.
Victoria was placed in handcuffs after Grace agreed to make a statement regarding the assault.
As officers led her toward the front entrance, Victoria looked back at me.
“Daniel.”
I said nothing.
“Ask Ethan where he was at 11:43 the night Claire died.”
Grace went still.
The officer pushed Victoria forward.
I turned.
“Why does that time matter?”
Grace looked frightened.
“Claire’s accident was reported at midnight.”
“I know.”
“She called me at 11:41.”
My heart stopped.
“What?”
“I didn’t answer.”
Grace’s eyes filled.
“I was asleep.”
“She left a voicemail.”
“Where is it?”
“I lost the phone after the funeral.”
I stared at her.
“Lost?”
Grace shook her head.
“I thought I lost it.”
“What are you saying?”
“The phone disappeared from my apartment.”
A terrible understanding settled over me.
Someone had been cleaning up after Claire.
Not just after her death.
Before it.
I called the security chief back.
“Pull every archived camera file we still have from the week Claire died.”
He hesitated.
“That was almost two years ago.”
“Find whatever exists.”
Grace touched my arm.
“Daniel.”
“What?”
She pointed toward Claire’s laptop.
A notification had appeared.
Someone had just attempted to log into Claire’s old cloud account.
The location was nearby.
May you like
Very nearby.
The device was connected from inside the estate.
