Chapter 4 - The Red Folder
Elena called Grace before dawn. The assistant sounded as if she had not slept at all. She explained that Julian had been reviewing a set of foundation invoices before the gala. Several payments had gone to a vendor called Northline Display Services, which had no proper office and no history of installing glass structures.
"Julian was going to ask the board to authorize an outside audit," Grace said. "The folder had the original invoices and a note about the vendor. It was on his desk before the speeches. After the collapse, it was gone."
"Did you see Adrian take it?"
"No. I saw him coming out of the private hall with one hand inside his jacket. I thought he was checking his phone."
Elena told her about the loose brace. Grace went quiet.
"If someone wanted everyone looking at the terrace," she said slowly, "a falling tower would do it."
Elena said nothing. The possibility made the danger to Noah feel deliberate.
At the estate, Julian demanded a list of everyone who had accessed the terrace and service corridor. The contractor and display company each insisted the tower had passed inspection.
"Give me the list," Julian said.
Grant hesitated. "The override was issued under your authorization, sir."
"I didn't issue it."
"Then someone used a copied credential or your account was accessed. We are checking both possibilities."
Julian called to apologize for placing her on leave without a clear reason. Elena described the missing pin, the vibration, and the tower's lean toward Noah's play area.
"Could a gust of wind have done it?" he asked.
"Not with that pin removed. Not in that direction."
He was silent for a moment. "Noah keeps saying Adrian did it."
"Then stop asking him to prove it to you. Ask the investigators to check whether his words fit the evidence."
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Julian accepted the rebuke without defending himself.
That evening, the display technician called him privately. He had checked his work photographs and found something that was not in the official inspection report: a silver release pedal had been installed beneath the pedestal after his crew left.
