Chapter 6 - What He Really Signed
Grant held up his phone. A conference room appeared on the screen. Adrian sat at the head of a table, saying, "All right. Proceed."
"There," Grant said. "You approved the relocation."
"Play the beginning," Adrian replied.
Grant didn't move.
"Play it," Adrian said again.
Vanessa slipped an arm around him. "Darling, this is hardly the place. Lena has already caused one ugly scene."
"My uncle just told me I signed away thirty-one families. I think this is exactly the place."
Grant shut off the video.
I'd reviewed enough security footage to know how easily it could be cut to make someone appear guilty. One sentence without the one before it could ruin a life.
"What did you say before 'proceed'?" I asked Adrian.
"If inspections are complete and every family has accepted housing, proceed. It was conditional."
"They removed the condition," I said.
Vanessa gave me a thin smile. "Are you a lawyer now?"
"No. I'm the woman whose friend you had taken downstairs."
Adrian pulled away from her. "Where is Iris Ward?"
"I don't know who that is," Vanessa said too quickly.
"She's the waitress you watched disappear," I told her. "The one whose badge Pike has."
For a heartbeat Vanessa's eyes slid toward Grant. Then she recovered. "Call the police if you think a crime occurred."
"Already done. Twice."
Adrian called the hotel operations desk and demanded access to the freight system. He also called his bank officer and ordered a temporary hold on new First Light payments pending review. The officer warned it would require written authorization. Adrian told her to send it.
My borrowed phone vibrated. An unknown number had sent a ten-second video.
May you like
Iris sat on a concrete floor, wrists tied with a linen cord. A boiler rattled behind her. She was alive.
Text filled the screen: DELETE THE FILES BY 10:30. OR YOU WILL NOT FIND HER.
