Chapter 4 - Someone Inside the House
Security records showed nothing unusual.
That bothered Luca more than a broken lock would have.
Every vehicle entering the estate had been logged.
Every employee badge had been recorded.
Every security camera had remained operational.
Yet someone had learned about Grayson within hours of Marcus locating him.
The leak had to be inside Luca’s circle.
Dominic arrived for dinner that evening as though nothing had changed.
He kissed Elena’s hand.
He brought Maya a boxed baseball glove far more expensive than the one she already owned.
Maya stared at it.
“Why?”
Dominic laughed.
“Because Luca tells me you have taken over his diamond.”
“I like my old glove.”
Dominic’s smile tightened.
Luca noticed.
Maya did not understand status.
That made her unusually dangerous to men who depended on it.
They ate in the formal dining room.
Dominic talked about shipments.
Union negotiations.
A city council problem.
Luca listened.
Then he deliberately mentioned Dr. Rachel Kim.
“My new neurologist believes I may recover partial movement.”
Dominic’s fork stopped.
Only for a fraction of a second.
But Luca saw it.
“That is wonderful,” Dominic said.
“Is it?”
Dominic looked up.
“Of course.”
Luca smiled.
“I thought you might be surprised.”
“Medicine advances.”
“Apparently.”
Maya watched both men.
Children noticed tension adults tried to disguise.
After dinner, she followed Luca into the library.
“I don’t like him.”
Luca raised an eyebrow.
“Dominic?”
“He smiles with only his mouth.”
Luca looked at her.
“You cannot accuse people of crimes based on their smile.”
“I didn’t accuse him of a crime.”
She climbed into a chair.
“I said I don’t like him.”
Fair enough.
Later that night, Elena found Luca alone.
“You were testing Dominic.”
“Yes.”
“You used your recovery as bait.”
“Yes.”
“And now?”
“We wait.”
Elena folded her arms.
“This is the part where honesty costs you something.”
Luca looked at her.
“You promised Maya normal.”
“I did.”
“Then do not turn this house into a trap while she is living inside it.”
Luca wanted to argue.
Instead he nodded.
“I’ll move the investigation off-site.”
Elena studied him.
“You mean that?”
“Yes.”
She left without another word.
At 2:17 a.m., a silent alarm activated in the medical wing.
Luca’s security team arrived thirty seconds later.
Nobody was there.
May you like
But Rachel Kim’s locked cabinet had been opened.
And Luca’s newest blood samples were missing.
