Chapter 7
Inside the sole was a thin plastic memory card.
No larger than a fingernail.
It had been taped beneath the footbed.
The technician imaged it without altering the original.
The card contained security footage.
Not from Lily’s tracker.
From the equestrian club.
Dozens of short clips.
Gate cameras.
Stable corridors.
Parking areas.
The private clinic.
Dante’s arrival routes.
Leo’s boxing room.
Some footage came from cameras Marcus had legitimate access to.
Other clips came from angles the club did not recognize.
Grant had apparently installed temporary hidden cameras during Meridian’s “assessment.”
Nathan watched one clip.
Dante’s car arrived.
Two guards exited first.
The video froze.
Text appeared:
PRIMARY RESPONSE — 14 SEC.
Another clip showed Lily tripping during riding practice.
Dante crossed the paddock toward her.
PRIMARY LEAVES EAST CORRIDOR — 41 SEC.
Nathan looked at Dante.
“This is operational mapping.”
The files documented how Dante’s protection shifted when a family member needed help.
That was valuable information.
Potentially dangerous information.
Marcus’s security-contract explanation was no longer enough.
Dante requested an independent review of every file before making accusations.
Leo stood beside him.
“Why put the card in Lily’s boot?”
Nobody knew.
Then the technician checked the file timestamps.
The newest clip had been copied onto the card that morning.
Less than an hour before Lily complained about movement.
Somebody placed both the card and tracker into the boot shortly before the medical-room confrontation.
Dante looked toward Leo.
“Who had access to her boots today?”
Leo answered immediately.
“Grant.”
Then his expression changed.
“And me.”
Dante waited.
Leo had carried Lily’s boots from the tack room to the fitting area because she asked him.
Anyone watching could say Leo had the last clear possession before Lily wore them.
Dante finally understood one part of the trap.
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If the boot had been discovered later without Marcus panicking—
Leo could have been blamed.
