Chapter 2 - WHAT EMMA HAD SEEN AT 2:13 A.M.
Emma did not sleep that night.
Adrian had offered her a room in the guest wing while Marcus secured her belongings.
She refused.
She wanted her own room.
Even after what happened.
Especially after what happened.
At 1:47 a.m., she sat on the edge of the bed staring at the place beneath the mattress where security had found the Rolex.
Someone had entered this room.
Touched her belongings.
Placed evidence beside the bed where she slept.
Emma felt violated in a way she had never experienced before.
A knock came.
“Emma?”
Adrian.
She opened the door only halfway.
He had changed from his business suit into a dark sweater.
“You should be sleeping.”
“So should you.”
“Fair.”
He held up a tablet.
“I need to ask you something.”
Emma stepped into the hallway.
Adrian showed her an image.
Vanessa entering his study at 2:13 a.m. three weeks earlier.
Emma’s breathing changed.
Adrian noticed.
“You remember this.”
She looked away.
“Emma.”
“Yes.”
“What happened?”
She had hoped never to tell him.
Three weeks earlier, Lily had developed a fever.
Emma had gone downstairs for water.
The house had been almost completely dark.
As she passed Adrian’s office, she heard a drawer.
Then saw Vanessa.
Barefoot.
Wearing a silk robe.
Standing behind Adrian’s desk.
She was holding a small black object.
A flash drive.
Vanessa saw Emma.
For several seconds neither spoke.
Then Vanessa walked toward her.
Slowly.
“You didn’t see anything.”
Emma had answered:
“I was just getting water.”
Vanessa stepped closer.
“You didn’t see anything.”
It sounded less like a request the second time.
The following morning, Emma convinced herself it was none of her business.
Maybe Vanessa had permission.
Maybe married couples shared company information.
Maybe Emma would create trouble where none existed.
So she stayed quiet.
Now Adrian listened without interrupting.
When she finished, he asked:
“What did the drive look like?”
“Black.”
“Logo?”
“A silver triangle.”
Adrian’s face changed.
Emma noticed immediately.
“What?”
He stepped backward.
“That wasn’t a normal drive.”
“What was it?”
Adrian did not answer.
He walked rapidly toward the security office.
Emma followed.
Marcus looked up.
“Sir?”
“Pull all office footage from the night of May eighteenth.”
Marcus typed.
Adrian called someone.
“Diane.”
A woman answered sleepily.
“Adrian?”
“Check Orion access.”
Silence.
Then:
“Why?”
“Check it.”
Five minutes later, Adrian’s general counsel was fully awake.
“Someone accessed the physical encryption key at 2:09 a.m.”
Adrian closed his eyes.
“Was anything copied?”
“We’ll need forensic review.”
Emma stood several feet away.
“What is Orion?”
Adrian looked at her.
“A cybersecurity platform.”
“How important?”
He hesitated.
“Important enough that if someone copied the architecture before launch, competitors could cost us hundreds of millions of dollars.”
Emma’s stomach dropped.
“And Vanessa had the key?”
“It appears so.”
Marcus brought up another camera.
Vanessa entering the office.
A different angle.
Her hand vanished inside a drawer.
Then she turned.
Something black reflected light.
The silver triangle appeared.
Emma whispered:
“That’s it.”
Adrian stared at the screen.
The missing Rolex was no longer the biggest problem in the house.
Not even close.
Marcus searched additional footage.
At 2:19 a.m., Vanessa entered her dressing room.
At 2:23, a laptop connected to the Cole Systems secure network.
At 2:31, an encrypted data packet left the property.
Destination unknown.
Diane’s voice came through the speaker.
“Adrian.”
“Yes?”
“We have a potential breach.”
“How much?”
“Still calculating.”
He looked toward Emma.
She suddenly understood why Vanessa wanted her destroyed.
Emma was not framed because Vanessa thought she was poor.
She was framed because Emma had become a witness.
May you like
And somewhere outside the mansion…
Someone had received what Vanessa stole.
