Chapter 2
Lily refused to let the ruined boot near her.
Emma wrapped her leg in a blanket and examined the pressure marks along her calf. Nothing severe. Nothing permanent.
Enough to make me hate myself for not noticing sooner.
“Does she need any special riding support?” I asked.
Emma shook her head.
“Not like this.”
Marcus immediately interrupted.
“She falls.”
Emma looked at him.
“She is three.”
Leo almost laughed.
I did not.
Emma explained that the rigid insert was not orthopedic treatment. It had been added afterward.
Someone wanted the capsule held tightly enough that Lily would not feel it shifting until the lining loosened.
Eventually it had.
That was what she felt moving.
I crouched beside my daughter.
“Who gave you these boots?”
She pointed at Grant.
Grant’s face changed.
Marcus closed his eyes.
Lily whispered:
“Uncle Marcus said special.”
“What was special?”
She thought carefully.
“Daddy can find me.”
That was the lie.
Then:
“Mr. Grant makes tight.”
Grant looked at the floor.
“How many times?”
Lily held up both hands because numbers above five were apparently decorative.
Leo answered instead.
“I saw him changing the insoles last week.”
I looked at my nephew.
“You knew?”
“I thought they were fitting her.”
He swallowed.
“Then Grant told me not to touch them.”
That had bothered him enough that he followed Lily here when she complained.
Marcus laughed bitterly.
“So now the teenager is a detective.”
Leo turned toward him.
“At least I noticed her.”
That landed on me too.
Fair.
I had been in New York for three days handling Bellandi disputes while my daughter rode under Marcus’s supervision.
Convenient.
I picked up the transmitter.
“How long has this been active?”
Grant remained silent.
Marcus said:
“Security precaution.”
I walked closer.
“Say that again.”
He did not.
Rafe entered carrying a tablet.
“Boss.”
He had searched Marcus’s office.
“There’s a receiver downstairs.”
My jaw tightened.
“One device?”
Rafe looked at Marcus.
“No.”
He turned the screen toward me.
Sixty-three archived audio files.
Different dates.
Different device codes.
One current label read:
LILY — BOOT 2.
But an older folder made Leo go completely still.
ADRIAN — A17.
Adrian Bellandi.
May you like
My dead brother.
Leo’s father.
