Chapter 5 - THE MAN IN THE GARAGE
Adrian left Noah with Emma in the library and walked straight to the estate garage.
Gabriel followed.
"Where are you going?"
"My father's car records were stored here."
"Six years ago."
"My mother stores receipts from restaurants she hated in 1998."
They found the old maintenance cabinet behind a row of vintage cars.
The file for Charles's sedan was missing.
"Of course."
Gabriel crouched near the cabinet.
"Someone cleaned this out recently."
Dust covered every folder except the space where Charles's records should have been.
"I want every recording from this garage."
Gabriel gave him a hard look.
"You still think your security belongs to you?"
Adrian called his head of security, Martin Shaw.
No answer.
Straight to voicemail.
Back inside, Emma sat with Noah asleep against her chest.
The sight hurt in a way he could not explain.
Celeste had once held Noah exactly like that.
Emma looked up.
"Did you find anything?"
"A missing file."
"Celeste said records disappeared whenever she got close."
Adrian sat across from her.
"Why didn't she tell me?"
"She tried."
"No. She left notes. She called you. She found Gabriel. But she didn't tell me."
"She thought Victoria monitored you."
Adrian looked toward the ceiling camera.
"That camera should be off."
Gabriel entered behind him.
"It's not the only one."
He had found a hidden transmitter beneath a hall console.
Someone had been streaming audio from inside the house.
A message from Martin Shaw appeared.
DO NOT TRUST GABRIEL.
YOUR SON IS IN DANGER.
The boy was staring at the doorway.
His face had gone pale.
"Daddy," he whispered.
No one was there.
"Bad man."
Emma tightened her arms around him.
"What bad man, sweetheart?"
Noah looked toward the empty hall.
May you like
Then he said the name Adrian least expected.
"Mr. Shaw."
