Chapter 8 - The Missing Ninety-Two Seconds
Grant Ellis brought Julian the access logs and a printout of the security system's override history. He looked tired and embarrassed.
"The terrace cameras were looped for ninety-two seconds. The command came from the estate account and was entered at the service terminal."
"Who used the terminal?" Julian asked.
"The hallway camera shows someone entering in a black jacket. The face is blocked by a reflection. We can identify the time, not the person."
"Can we recover the original feed?"
"The system overwrote it, but the contractor's backup server may have retained a low-resolution copy. I'm contacting them."
Maya crossed her arms. "Why did you wait until now to check the backup?"
Grant did not try to defend himself. "I assumed the central system was enough. I was wrong."
Julian ordered him to preserve all logs and remove Adrian's access to the estate until the investigation was resolved. Grant warned that the board might object to restricting the foundation's chief operating officer.
"Let them object to me," Julian said. "Not to my son's safety."
The contractor found a grainy backup file showing a man pause beside the base, look toward the dining room, bend as if adjusting his shoe, and step away. Moments later, the tower swayed.
The face was still obscured, but the jacket had a distinctive white stitch at the cuff. Adrian's tailor had used the same stitch on the black dinner jacket he wore that night.
The video was not enough by itself. The investigator wanted the original file, a forensic copy, and a statement from the contractor who had recovered it. Julian handed everything over.
Grant admitted that Adrian had asked him to disable the terrace camera two days earlier. Grant refused, but Adrian later claimed Julian had approved it, and Grant left the administrative account accessible while he checked.
"I didn't know he would use it for this," Grant said.
"You didn't need to know," Julian replied. "You needed to protect the system."
Grant accepted the suspension without argument.
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That evening, a reporter called the estate asking why Elena Ruiz had been removed from her job after saving Noah. Someone had leaked the fact that she was under investigation.
Julian realized the next move was already underway: Adrian was trying to turn the person who saved his nephew into the person everyone blamed.
