Chapter 4 - THE CAMERA ACROSS THE STREET
Arthur called home immediately.
Maya answered.
“Lock every door.”
Her voice changed.
“What happened?”
“Where are Elena and Lucas?”
“Upstairs.”
“Keep them there.”
Arthur turned to Rachel.
“Someone photographed Maya through my kitchen window.”
Rachel was already moving.
“Send it.”
Arthur forwarded the image.
She enlarged it.
“Angle is elevated.”
Daniel looked at the photograph.
“Across the street?”
“Probably.”
Arthur called his security team.
By the time he returned home, two guards were searching the neighborhood.
Rachel stood across the street studying an empty rental house.
The front door was unlocked.
Inside, they found almost nothing.
A folding chair.
Coffee cups.
A portable battery.
And a camera tripod facing Arthur’s home.
Whoever had been there was gone.
But they had left one thing behind.
A crumpled receipt.
Rachel picked it up with gloves.
“Convenience store.”
Daniel checked the time.
“Purchased yesterday.”
Arthur looked at the security camera mounted above the store across the intersection.
Rachel smiled slightly.
“That might be useful.”
An hour later, they had footage.
The man purchasing the coffee wore a baseball cap.
But when he turned toward the register, Arthur recognized him.
“Victor Dane.”
Daniel looked surprised.
“You know him?”
“He worked security for Charles Ashford.”
Rachel nodded.
“Then Charles just made his first serious mistake.”
Arthur returned home.
Maya was sitting with Elena and Lucas.
She stood immediately.
“Are we in danger?”
Arthur didn’t lie.
“Someone was watching the house.”
Maya’s face drained.
“I should leave.”
“No.”
“If they’re after me—”
“They’re not after you.”
Arthur looked toward the children.
“They’re using you because they think frightening you will frighten me.”
Maya whispered, “Will it?”
Arthur answered honestly.
“Yes.”
She looked surprised.
“Because I should have protected everyone in this house long before tonight.”
Maya lowered her eyes.
Arthur continued.
“But being afraid doesn’t mean I’m stopping.”
That evening, Arthur moved Maya and the children to a secure guest property owned by Sterling Development.
Only four people knew the location.
Arthur.
Daniel.
Rachel.
And Arthur’s longtime housekeeper, Mrs. Bennett.
At midnight, Arthur received another call.
This time it was Marcus.
“You went to Harbor Street.”
Arthur sat up.
“How do you know?”
“My father knows everything.”
“Then tell me what he’s hiding.”
Marcus breathed heavily.
“You think this is about stolen money?”
“Isn’t it?”
“No.”
Arthur became still.
“What is it about?”
Marcus hesitated.
Then whispered.
“People.”
Arthur’s grip tightened around the phone.
“What people?”
“Employees.”
“What happened to them?”
Marcus didn’t answer.
“Marcus.”
“I can’t say this over the phone.”
“Then meet me.”
“I can’t.”
“Why?”
“Because he’s watching me too.”
Arthur heard a sound on Marcus’s end.
A door opening.
Marcus whispered quickly.
“Find Evelyn Price.”
“Who?”
“She handled Ashford payroll fifteen years ago.”
“Marcus—”
The call disconnected.
Arthur immediately called back.
No answer.
He searched the name.
Evelyn Price.
Former accounting director.
Ashford Residential.
Resigned fourteen years earlier.
Arthur found an old address.
Then he noticed something else.
May you like
According to public records, Evelyn Price had disappeared shortly after leaving Ashford.
And nobody had seen her since.
