Chapter 9 - THE WOMAN INSIDE THE HOUSE
Adrian called his assistant three times.
No answer.
Rachel Quinn had worked for him for six years. She booked his flights, knew his passwords, coordinated contractors at the house, and had helped Vanessa plan the wedding.
Clara remembered Rachel bringing a new router to the estate two months earlier.
At the time, nobody questioned it.
Now Marcus did.
"Her credentials accessed camera folders on twelve different dates," he said.
"Can she delete them?" Adrian asked.
"Not the off-site backup."
Wexler spoke from across the room.
"This has nothing to do with my client."
Marcus looked at him. "Then your client has terrible luck with friends."
Officer Ruiz requested Vanessa's phones as potential evidence. Wexler objected. Vanessa shouted that Adrian was using police connections to terrorize her.
Lily heard the raised voices from the library and started crying again.
Clara went to her.
"Is she going away?" Lily asked.
"For tonight, yes."
"What about tomorrow?"
Clara hesitated.
Children always noticed hesitation.
"I don't know."
Lily pressed the teddy bear against her chest.
"She said she'd come back even if Dad made her leave."
"When?"
"Last week."
"What exactly did she say?"
Lily stared at the floor.
"She said houses belong to the person who knows where all the doors are."
Clara felt a chill.
After the police escorted Vanessa out for formal questioning, Adrian ordered every access code changed.
Marcus began checking windows, service entrances, staff badges, and smart locks.
At 9:40 p.m., he found something behind the linen cabinet near Lily's bedroom.
A tiny wireless camera.
Not part of the home's security system.
Its lens pointed directly toward Lily's door.
Adrian stared at it.
"Who installed that?"
Marcus removed the memory card.
"We should find out."
The card contained weeks of footage.
Most of it showed a hallway.
Then Clara saw Rachel.
The executive assistant appeared at 1:13 a.m. three nights earlier, carrying a screwdriver and a small black pouch.
She entered Elena's study.
Seven minutes later, she came out holding the teddy bear.
But the bear was back in Lily's room by morning.
Adrian leaned closer to the screen.
"She already opened it."
Clara looked at the brass key in the evidence bag.
Then she understood.
"No," she said. "She opened the wrong thing."
Adrian turned.
May you like
Clara pointed toward the bear.
"Look at the stitches on the other ear."
