Chapter 6
Vanessa said Luis hated her.
“He blamed me because Grant was my brother.”
I replayed the file.
One word.
Her name.
Nothing else.
“Why would he say it?”
“Ask a dead man.”
Grant laughed.
“That’s convenient.”
Maria stared at Vanessa.
“You were at Warehouse Nine.”
“No.”
“You came home with dust on your coat.”
Vanessa’s face tightened.
Maria remembered more.
“Daniel was away.”
I looked at my fiancée.
“Where was I?”
“Boston.”
Correct.
“How did you know Luis would be there?”
No answer.
Grant interrupted.
“This is becoming embarrassing.”
I turned.
“For you?”
“For you.”
He smiled.
“A secret Mafia boss letting a housekeeper and a toddler run an interrogation in his kitchen.”
Vanessa laughed.
There.
The contempt.
Not just for Maria.
For me protecting them.
Grant continued.
“You used to understand hierarchy.”
“I still do.”
“Then act like it.”
I stepped closer.
“In my hierarchy, loyal people stand above traitors.”
His face changed.
I opened the security system.
Warehouse cameras from eight months ago had supposedly failed.
I checked administrative access.
Someone disabled them remotely.
A Hayes internal credential.
My credential.
I looked at Vanessa.
She wore my engagement ring.
But not my family signet.
Still, she had spent months inside my home.
Months watching.
Learning.
“What did you copy?”
She frowned.
“What?”
“My access.”
“Nothing.”
I held up my phone.
“Warehouse Nine cameras were disabled using my authorization.”
Grant smiled.
“Maybe your security is sloppy.”
Then Maria whispered:
“Sophia saw Vanessa with your ring.”
I turned.
“What ring?”
Sophia looked at my hand.
“That one.”
My signet.
“No.”
She shook her head.
“Another.”
Vanessa went pale.
Sophia pointed at her.
“She put it on when you were gone.”
Replica.
My stomach tightened.
I looked at Vanessa.
“You copied my signet access.”
She finally stopped smiling.
And at that exact moment, my security captain called.
“Boss, west service gate just opened.”
I looked at Grant.
He smiled again.
“You came home four days early.”
May you like
Pause.
“They didn’t.”
