Chapter 5 - The Window
Daniel searched the grounds within minutes.
Nobody was found.
The photograph had been sent through a masked internet number, but the angle came from the north garden near the service wall.
Nathan ordered the estate locked down.
Grace shook her head. “This is exactly what I didn’t want.”
“What?”
“Lily inside a fortress because of me.”
“Because of them,” Nathan corrected.
He looked toward Lily, asleep with the blue box beside her.
The next morning, Nathan’s attorney, Rebecca Shaw, arrived with a mobile phlebotomist.
The DNA samples were collected in front of everyone and sealed with numbered tamper strips.
Rebecca photographed each seal.
“No chain-of-custody games,” she said.
Nathan nodded.
Victoria called thirteen times.
He answered once.
“What?”
Her voice was soft. “My father says you’re making a terrible mistake.”
“Your father knew about Lily before I did.”
“He knew Grace had claimed things.”
“Four years ago?”
Silence.
Nathan leaned against the desk.
“Victoria, when did you first hear Grace Bennett’s name?”
“Recently.”
“Wrong answer.”
He ended the call.
Daniel entered holding a security report.
“We traced the photograph metadata before it was scrubbed.”
Nathan read the location field.
The image had first synced to a private server owned by Whitmore Holdings.
Grace went pale.
Rebecca said, “That’s enough for a preservation order.”
Nathan looked at Daniel. “Do it.”
Then Rebecca’s phone rang.
The lab.
She listened for less than a minute.
Her expression changed.
“The samples never arrived.”
Nathan stood.
“What?”
“The courier vehicle was stopped on the interstate.”
“Accident?”
May you like
Rebecca shook her head.
“No. Someone used a fake police badge and took the evidence box.”
