Chapter 5 - THE LEAK
Only six people knew Owen's transfer route.
Mara.
Two officers.
Grant.
The county prosecutor.
And me.
Yet someone intercepted the van on a service road with no traffic cameras.
Mara looked at Grant.
Grant looked at Mara.
"Nobody leaves the estate without being searched," Mara said.
My mother, Celeste, entered before anyone could answer.
She was still wearing the silver gown from the party.
"Ethan, this is insanity. You cannot imprison guests in your own house."
"Someone tried to kill Noah."
Her face softened for one second.
Then she said, "Julian would never hurt that boy."
I looked at her.
"I didn't say Julian."
She froze.
That tiny mistake meant everything.
"Mother, where is he?"
"I don't know."
"You helped raise him. Try harder."
She turned toward Mara.
"I want my attorney."
Mara smiled without warmth.
"You're free to call one. You're also free to tell us why you knew Mr. Vale suspected Julian."
Celeste walked out.
Grant whispered, "That was bad."
"Yes."
A search of Julian's office uncovered a burner phone charger, three prepaid SIM packages, and a photograph of the ballroom floor plan.
But none of it proved the attack was his.
Then Elena found something.
She had returned to the ballroom to collect Noah's shoe.
Under the fallen linen she found a second cufflink.
Same family crest.
Different face engraved on the back.
Adrian.
My dead brother.
Rebecca stared at both cufflinks.
"These weren't the set you gave everyone."
"What?"
"Look at the edges. Yours were machine-cut. These are hand-finished."
My father had commissioned one private pair for each of his sons.
Mine.
Adrian's.
We wore them only once.
At our father's sixtieth birthday.
After Adrian died, his pair disappeared.
Mine were locked in a bank vault.
At least I thought they were.
Rebecca called the bank.
The vault had been opened three days earlier.
May you like
Authorized visitor:
Celeste Vale.
