Chapter 6
Carlo did not deny touching the security case.
He denied knowing what Victor intended.
I believed half of that.
Maybe.
“Why were you inside Dante’s case?”
“To obtain the override key.”
Dante’s face hardened.
“For what?”
“Council-room cameras.”
There it was.
Not kennel cameras.
Only council.
Victor had used the same access later to cut kennel footage.
Carlo had opened the door.
Victor walked through it farther than promised.
Same old story.
One man commits the act.
Another creates the opportunity.
Then calls himself less guilty.
I looked at Carlo.
“You knew you were hiding meetings from me.”
“Yes.”
“You knew the acting-head discussion depended on me becoming unavailable.”
“Yes.”
“Did you know how?”
“No.”
Victor laughed.
“Everyone wants clean hands now.”
Carlo looked at him.
“You said Adrian was exhausted.”
“I said he’d collapse.”
“You did not say you would drug him.”
Victor shrugged.
“Would you have agreed?”
“No.”
“Exactly.”
Silence.
He had hidden the method because he knew the men supporting his outcome would reject the means.
That mattered.
It did not absolve them.
It exposed the line they were willing not to inspect.
I looked at Dante.
“How did Victor get the sedative?”
Dr. Reynolds answered.
“My medical bag.”
I turned.
His face was pale.
“Something is missing.”
Victor smiled.
Reynolds continued.
“A vial used for controlled procedures.”
I stared at him.
“Who had access?”
“Staff. Security during family events.”
Too broad.
Then Elena spoke.
“Victor was in the infirmary Tuesday.”
Everyone turned.
“How do you know?”
“I was cleaning the corridor.”
Of course.
Again.
The maid saw what ranked men missed.
Victor looked at her with contempt.
“You people are everywhere.”
Elena’s face hardened.
“We clean everywhere.”
Simple.
I almost smiled.
Victor’s entire conspiracy kept colliding with the people he considered scenery.
Then Sophia raised her notebook again.
“Mommy.”
One page showed Elena pushing a cart.
Behind her, Victor stood near the infirmary door.
In his hand?
A tiny bottle.
Not proof by itself.
But enough to make every lie harder.
Victor stared at Sophia.
“You should keep that child out of adult rooms.”
I leaned forward.
“No.”
May you like
My voice dropped.
“You should have stopped committing adult betrayals in front of a child you thought didn’t count.”
