Chapter 2
Lily had a red pressure mark above her ankle but no serious injury.
Dr. Emma treated the irritated skin and told Dante she could return home.
Lily refused to put on another riding boot.
Dante did not make her.
Leo carried her sneakers.
As they prepared to leave, Lily looked at the cut rubber boot.
“Did I do something bad?”
Dante crouched.
“No.”
“Why was it in there?”
“I don't know yet.”
That was the most honest answer he had.
Back at the Bellandi estate, Dante ordered every piece of Lily’s riding equipment collected.
Helmet.
Gloves.
Boots.
Saddle pads.
Jackets.
Her second pair of boots contained nothing.
Neither did her helmet.
Then one bodyguard found a second tracker.
It had been sewn inside the lining of Lily’s saddle pad.
Dante stared at it.
This one had been hidden professionally.
Not shoved inside at the last moment.
Someone had been monitoring Lily for longer than one afternoon.
He called Marcus.
No answer.
Grant’s phone had also gone dark.
Dante’s security chief, Nathan Pierce, traced the equipment labels.
Both devices came from Meridian Shield, Grant’s employer.
Meridian had recently proposed taking over the equestrian club’s entire security contract.
Marcus had strongly supported them.
Dante remembered the presentation.
New cameras.
Tracking technology.
Emergency response.
Child-safety monitoring.
Marcus had called the existing system outdated.
Dante rejected the proposal because the price was absurd.
Now Meridian equipment was hidden inside his daughter’s belongings.
Nathan looked at him.
“Could be Grant trying to prove the technology works.”
“Without permission?”
Nathan shrugged.
“Then it isn't security.”
Dante looked toward Lily playing in the next room.
“No.”
May you like
His voice lowered.
“It’s surveillance.”
