Chapter 13 - The Night Intruder
Adrian called security and told everyone to stay out of the east wing until police arrived. Naomi and Evelyn remained in the study with Marisol while the guards checked the cameras.
The footage showed a person in dark clothes entering through a service door with a copied keycard. The figure moved straight toward the office where Evelyn kept her private papers. They opened drawers, searched the safe, and left without taking jewelry or cash.
“They wanted the documents,” Naomi said.
Adrian checked the cabinet where the flash drive had been hidden. It was empty. Naomi felt cold spread through her chest.
Naomi exhaled, but the relief lasted only a second. The intruder had searched the safe even though the drive was not there. Someone knew Evelyn had copies, and they were desperate to find them.
Police officers arrived and photographed the damaged lock. One guard admitted that his access card had been missing for two days. He had reported it to Celeste, who told him not to make a formal issue of it.
Adrian looked as if he might explode. “She used my own staff to get inside.”
The officer asked whether Celeste still had access to the house. Adrian said her key had been deactivated that afternoon. The officer wrote it down and asked for the access log.
Adrian recognized it. “That belongs to Graham Pike.”
The next morning, Pike claimed he had lost the cuff link months earlier. His attorney said he had never entered the mansion. But the camera footage showed the intruder’s hand, and the cuff link had been found beside the safe.
Evelyn looked at Naomi. “You have lost your job, been called a liar, and now someone has broken into this house because of what you saw.”
Naomi thought of her rent, her brother’s tuition, and the way Evelyn’s wrist had looked in Celeste’s hand.
A call came from the investigator handling the case.
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They had found the notary who witnessed Adrian’s supposed signature.
He was ready to talk—but only if he could be protected.
