Chapter 3 - THE MISSING ELEVEN MINUTES
Lucas Vale had always been talented at making disasters look accidental.
At twenty, he had crashed a vintage Aston Martin and claimed the brakes failed.
At twenty-six, he had lost three million dollars in a technology investment and blamed a fraudulent consultant.
At thirty-two, he had disappeared for six weeks while creditors called Adrian’s office every morning.
He was charming, reckless, and deeply ashamed of how often his older brother had rescued him.
But Adrian had never believed Lucas capable of placing Elena in danger.
Marcus’s team brought Lucas and Daniel Price back before sunrise.
They were questioned separately inside the estate’s security office.
Daniel spoke first.
Victoria’s assistant had paid him fifty thousand dollars to disable selected cameras during the dinner.
He insisted he had not known anyone would be harmed.
He had been told Victoria planned to surprise Adrian with a confidential announcement and did not want the staff recording it.
“Why did you run?” Marcus asked.
“Because Ms. Ashford called after she left.”
“What did she say?”
“She told me the police would believe I helped attack a pregnant woman.”
Daniel’s face was gray.
“She said I would spend twenty years in prison unless I disappeared.”
“And Lucas?”
“He found me at the bus station.”
Lucas told a different story.
He admitted introducing Daniel to Victoria’s assistant.
He also admitted giving Victoria temporary access to the estate’s event calendar.
But he denied knowing about the scissors or the camera shutdown.
“She said she wanted to plan the merger dinner,” Lucas said.
Adrian stood across from him.
“You gave an outsider access to my home.”
“She was not an outsider.”
“She is now.”
Lucas looked toward Elena.
“I am sorry you were hurt.”
Elena’s expression remained unreadable.
“Why did you find Daniel?”
“He called me.”
“Why?”
“Because he knew I introduced him.”
“And you took him to a motel instead of the police?”
Lucas’s shoulders tightened.
“He was terrified.”
“So were you,” Adrian said.
Lucas looked down.
Adrian knew that posture.
It meant there was more.
“How much do you owe?” he asked.
Lucas’s head lifted.
Elena closed her eyes briefly.
“Adrian—”
“How much?”
Lucas rubbed both hands over his face.
“Eight million.”
Marcus stopped taking notes.
“Eight million dollars?” Adrian repeated.
“It was not supposed to become that much.”
“To whom?”
Lucas swallowed.
“A private lender.”
“Name.”
“Calder Finance.”
Adrian recognized it immediately.
Calder Finance was controlled through a chain of companies tied to Ashford Capital.
Victoria had not merely offered Lucas a business favor.
She owned his debt.
“She promised to clear it,” Lucas admitted.
“In exchange for what?”
“Information.”
“What information?”
“Board schedules.”
“Continue.”
“Property valuations.”
“Continue.”
“The access codes for the guest wing.”
Adrian’s hands curled into fists.
Elena stood slowly.
“Did you give her my medical schedule?”
Lucas looked at her.
His silence answered.
Adrian crossed the room so quickly that Marcus stepped between the brothers.
“You gave Victoria my wife’s medical information?”
“I did not know she would hurt her.”
“You knew she was blackmailing you.”
“I thought she wanted leverage for the merger.”
“You thought?”
Adrian’s voice broke across the room.
“You sold access to my family because you thought it might solve one more problem you created.”
Lucas’s eyes filled with anger.
“You have solved every problem in my life before I could solve it myself.”
“No,” Adrian said.
“I cleaned up the destruction after you refused to stop.”
Elena placed one hand against Adrian’s arm.
“This is not helping.”
“He endangered you.”
“Yes.”
Her voice trembled.
“But we need the truth more than we need his punishment right now.”
She turned to Lucas.
“What did Victoria ask about my appointments?”
Lucas wiped his mouth.
“She wanted to know which doctors you saw.”
“Why?”
“She said Ashford Capital’s insurers required information because your pregnancy could affect Adrian’s availability.”
“That makes no sense,” Marcus said.
“I know that now.”
Elena returned to the table.
“Did she ask about Dr. Mercer?”
“No.”
“Anyone else?”
Lucas hesitated.
“She asked about a specialist named Dr. Warren.”
Elena looked at Adrian.
“I do not have a doctor named Warren.”
Marcus began searching the name.
Within minutes, he found a Dr. Samuel Warren employed by a private maternal health clinic owned by an Ashford subsidiary.
The clinic had opened nine months earlier.
Its licensing records looked legitimate.
Its patient reviews were flawless.
But the corporate address led to an empty office.
“What is Victoria planning?” Adrian asked.
Lucas shook his head.
“I do not know.”
A phone began ringing.
It came from the evidence bag containing Daniel’s recovered belongings.
Marcus pulled out a small prepaid device.
The incoming number was blocked.
He answered without speaking.
A woman’s voice came through the speaker.
“Did you reach the border?”
Daniel went still.
Marcus gestured for silence.
“Yes,” he said, imitating Daniel’s frightened tone as closely as possible.
“Good.”
The woman continued.
“Do not contact Lucas again.”
Marcus glanced at Adrian.
“What about the footage?” he asked.
“You destroyed it.”
“I deleted it.”
“That is not what I asked.”
Daniel mouthed, There was a backup.
Marcus understood.
“The backup is hidden,” he said.
The woman stopped breathing for one second.
Then she asked, “Where?”
Marcus looked toward Daniel.
Daniel pointed to the ceiling.
“The cloud server,” Marcus answered.
“That server cannot be reached without physical access to the house.”
“You should have considered that earlier.”
The woman’s voice sharpened.
“Fix it before noon.”
“How?”
“You still have one active access card.”
Marcus checked the system.
Daniel’s card had been disabled.
But another contractor card remained active under an employee named Samuel Reed.
No one by that name worked at the estate.
The call ended.
Marcus immediately locked every entry point.
Then the alarm panel lit up.
Someone had just used Samuel Reed’s access card at the service tunnel beneath the east garden.
Security rushed downstairs.
Adrian remained with Elena.
A minute later, the lights went out.
May you like
The mansion fell into darkness.
From somewhere below them came the unmistakable sound of breaking glass.
