CHAPTER 2 — SOMEONE INSIDE THE HOUSE
No one spoke.
The name Blackstone settled over the security room like smoke after an explosion.
Thomas Reynolds wasn't a man who frightened easily.
Twenty-seven years in federal protection.
Three presidents.
Countless assassination threats.
Yet the color had drained from his face.
I looked at him.
"What is Blackstone?"
He hesitated.
Grace noticed it too.
"Thomas?"
He rubbed his jaw before answering.
"Officially?"
He sighed.
"A private security consulting firm."
"And unofficially?"
Thomas looked toward the closed office door before lowering his voice.
"They're the people wealthy families hire when they need problems to disappear."
A chill crept up my spine.
"What kind of problems?"
"Witnesses."
He paused.
"Evidence."
Another pause.
"Sometimes... people."
Noah looked up at me.
"Dad..."
I immediately knelt beside him.
"It's okay."
"No."
His tiny fingers gripped my sleeve.
"The snake man..."
His voice trembled.
"...he scared Mommy."
The room froze.
Grace slowly crouched beside Noah.
"Honey..."
"When was that?"
Noah stared at the floor.
"I wasn't supposed to hear."
His little hands began twisting together.
"I woke up because Mommy was crying."
Three years ago.
He had only been two.
Children shouldn't remember that age.
Unless something terrified them enough.
I kept my voice gentle.
"What happened?"
"I came out of my room."
He swallowed.
"Mommy was downstairs."
"Was anyone with her?"
He nodded.
"Uncle Marcus."
My heart pounded.
"And?"
"The snake man."
My breathing slowed.
Trying to stay calm.
"What were they doing?"
"They were yelling."
"What did Mommy say?"
Noah squeezed his eyes shut, struggling to remember.
"She said..."
A long silence.
Then...
"'I'll tell Daniel everything.'"
Grace covered her mouth.
Thomas slowly looked away.
I couldn't move.
Emily had threatened to expose them.
Two days later...
She was dead.
"Noah."
I forced my voice to remain steady.
"Did Mommy see you?"
He nodded.
"She carried me upstairs."
"What did she tell you?"
His answer shattered me.
"She said..."
His voice barely existed.
"...if Daddy ever cries again..."
"...be brave for him."
I closed my eyes.
For three years I had believed Emily somehow knew she was dying.
Cancer.
Depression.
An accident.
I had invented a hundred explanations.
None of them included murder.
Thomas suddenly interrupted.
"Sir."
He was staring at another monitor.
"I found something."
The security software displayed every person who had entered the estate during the past twelve months.
Delivery companies.
Florists.
Wedding planners.
Electricians.
Then...
One unfamiliar entry.
Victor Hale
Visitor Authorization:
Approved by...
Marcus Ashford.
I frowned.
"I don't know anyone named Victor Hale."
Thomas enlarged the driver's license photograph.
Grace gasped.
"It's him."
"The snake tattoo?"
She nodded immediately.
"That's the man Noah described."
I looked closer.
Forties.
Former military haircut.
Cold gray eyes.
Nothing extraordinary.
Except...
A black serpent tattoo climbing the left side of his neck.
"When was this?"
Thomas checked.
"Eight months ago."
"Purpose?"
"He signed in as..."
Thomas frowned.
"...estate security consultant."
"I never hired one."
"He wasn't hired by you."
He turned the monitor toward me.
"He was hired by Marcus."
Victoria suddenly laughed.
Not loudly.
Almost bitterly.
"You still don't understand."
I looked at her.
She leaned against the wall, hands restrained behind her back.
"You think Marcus planned this?"
She shook her head.
"He wasn't smart enough."
"Who was?"
She smiled.
"You'll never find him."
Thomas ignored her.
"I'll run facial recognition."
Within seconds, Victor Hale's photograph appeared beside another profile.
Former military.
Dishonorably discharged.
Security contractor.
Financial crimes.
Witness intimidation.
Multiple investigations.
Never convicted.
Current employer...
BLACKSTONE RISK MANAGEMENT.
My phone vibrated again.
Unknown number.
Thomas reached for it.
"Don't answer."
I studied the screen.
Then...
The caller disconnected.
One second later...
A text message arrived.
STOP DIGGING.
Another message followed.
YOUR SON ISN'T SAFE.
Grace instinctively pulled Noah closer.
Thomas immediately traced the number.
Disposable phone.
Already disconnected.
Professional.
The lights flickered.
Once.
Twice.
Then...
Darkness.
Every monitor shut off simultaneously.
The emergency generator should have activated instantly.
It didn't.
The entire mansion became silent.
No electricity.
No cameras.
No alarms.
Thomas cursed under his breath.
"They killed the power."
"Backup?"
"Should already be running."
"It isn't."
"Which means..."
Someone had disabled it first.
Outside...
A dog barked.
Then another.
Then...
Gunshots.
Not many.
Two.
Sharp.
Close.
Every security guard in the room reached for their weapons.
Thomas opened the safe beside his desk.
He handed me a pistol.
I stared at it.
"I haven't carried one since Emily died."
"You need it now."
Another shot echoed through the estate.
This one closer.
Then the radio on Thomas's shoulder crackled.
Static.
Finally...
A terrified voice.
"Gate Three..."
More static.
"They're inside..."
The transmission died.
Grace grabbed Noah.
"We have to leave."
Thomas shook his head.
"No."
"Why?"
"They want us outside."
Victoria quietly smiled.
"They're already here."
Before anyone could react...
A loud crash echoed upstairs.
Glass shattered.
Heavy footsteps.
Not one person.
Several.
Moving through the second floor.
Slowly.
Methodically.
Not searching.
Advancing.
Thomas looked at every guard.
"They know the layout."
One guard whispered,
"Inside help?"
Thomas nodded.
"Someone opened the gates."
Then...
From somewhere inside the mansion...
A child's voice cried out.
"Daddy!"
Every muscle in my body froze.
I turned toward Noah.
He was still standing beside Grace.
Safe.
Then whose voice...
Again.
"Daddy!"
Exactly Noah's voice.
Exactly.
Coming from upstairs.
Thomas's eyes widened.
"Audio recording."
One guard whispered.
"They're drawing us out."
A third voice echoed through the hallway.
A woman screaming.
It sounded exactly like...
Emily.
Three years after her death.
The entire house fell silent.
May you like
Then Thomas whispered the words none of us wanted to hear.
"They've been inside this house much longer than we realized."
