Chapter 7 - A Perfect Record
Nicole met Richard at a twenty-four-hour diner in Queens just after sunrise.
She looked younger than he remembered. Tired, cautious, angry.
“I found bruises on Maya’s upper arms,” she said. “Small ones. Finger-shaped.”
Richard stared at the coffee between his hands.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I tried.”
She slid her phone across the table.
There were three emails addressed to Richard’s private account.
He had never received them.
“I sent photos. I asked for a meeting. The next day, Mrs. Sterling accused me of stealing a diamond bracelet.”
Richard looked up.
“She said security footage showed me entering her bedroom. Police found the bracelet in my car.”
“You were charged?”
“Charges were dropped six months later. But by then my career was gone.”
Richard felt sick.
Nicole leaned closer. “I did not put that bracelet in my car.”
“Do you know who did?”
“I know who had access.”
She showed him another photo.
Victoria stood beside Nicole’s vehicle in the employee lot.
The timestamp was the night before the police search.
Richard whispered, “Why didn’t anyone show me this?”
“Because your head of household operations said the photo was irrelevant.”
Richard knew that man.
Graham Pike.
He had managed the Sterling estate for seven years.
He had handled background checks, staff complaints, household security requests, and most messages sent to Richard while Richard traveled.
Richard called Daniel immediately.
“Where’s Graham?”
There was a pause.
“He left the estate twenty minutes ago.”
“Stop him.”
“We tried.”
“What do you mean, tried?”
“He used the east service gate. His access badge overrode the lock.”
Richard stood so fast the table shook.
Nicole grabbed his wrist.
“There’s more.”
She opened one final image.
May you like
It showed Graham and Victoria together outside a hotel in Manhattan.
The date was eight months before Richard had ever met Victoria.
