Chapter 2 - THE MISSING MINUTE
"Deleted?" Adrian asked.
Caleb held up the security tablet. Four camera feeds showed guests walking, bartenders polishing glasses, and an empty service corridor. The fifth was gray. Its timestamp jumped from 9:11 to 9:14.
"The system says a supervisor account cleared those three minutes," Caleb said. "It wasn't mine."
Vanessa straightened. "Good. Maybe we can stop treating an accident like attempted murder."
"I didn't say attempted murder," Adrian replied. "Interesting that you did."
Emma still stood by the wheelchair. Blood had soaked through the knee of her tights. Adrian reached for her elbow, but she stepped away.
"Don't," she said.
"Emma--"
"I spent seven months watching you fight for every inch. I celebrated when you lifted a coffee mug without help. Was any of that real?"
"The pain was real. The rehabilitation was real. I started walking again in August."
"And it's November."
He had no defense that wouldn't sound like another excuse.
Vanessa's heels clicked across the marble. "Adrian, darling, whatever you're planning, please don't involve me. I came to make peace."
"You called me worthless twenty minutes ago."
"I was upset."
"You told Emma I'd lost everything."
Vanessa blinked. "Have you?"
That question landed harder than a threat. Adrian had spent the last month studying falsified contracts at Blackwood Development. Someone had been quietly moving his company's waterfront properties into private hands while everyone believed he was incapacitated.
Caleb cleared his throat. "I can keep Ms. Vale here until police arrive."
"You can ask her to stay," Adrian said. "You don't get to lock her in. Call the police and preserve the rest of the system."
Emma started toward the doors, limping. He wanted to follow her. Then Caleb handed him a printout of the security login used to erase the footage.
May you like
The username belonged to Adrian's own account.
And the login had been made from his private office, which only three people could enter.
