Chapter 6 - THE EMPTY BEDROOM
The laboratory results confirmed that Lucas's inhaler had been deliberately altered. The valve had been obstructed with a fine residue that interfered with the medication's delivery. The substance was not enough to kill him by itself, but during a severe attack it could have made his condition far more dangerous.
The report did not identify who had tampered with it.
The security logs did.
Victor had entered Lucas's private suite twice on the evening of the attack. The first visit lasted forty seconds. The second lasted eleven minutes.
Daniel found something else in the access records: a second credential had been used to open the east corridor door shortly before Lucas collapsed.
It belonged to a former security officer named Paul Mercer.
Paul had disappeared from the payroll three weeks earlier.
“Where is he?” Lucas asked.
“His apartment is empty. His phone is off.”
“Find him.”
Daniel placed a photograph on the desk.
Paul stood beside Victor at a charity event, one hand resting on the lieutenant's shoulder.
“They were close,” Daniel said.
Lucas studied the photograph.
“Everyone was close to Victor.”
That was the problem.
Victor had been with the family for fifteen years. He had attended Isabella's funeral. He had carried Daniel's small coffin when the boy was declared dead after the crash.
Lucas remembered the day with a clarity that still hurt.
The warehouse alarm had pulled him away from home. Isabella had been driving Daniel to her sister's apartment when their car was struck on the highway. The vehicle burned before help arrived.
Victor had been the one to identify the remains.
Lucas had never questioned him.
Now every memory had become a possible lie.
At the same time, Grace and Lily were moved to a small guest apartment owned by Daniel's mother. The building had a private entrance and a doorman who knew not to admit anyone without approval.
Lily was delighted by the new bedroom. It had yellow curtains, a small bookshelf, and a stuffed rabbit waiting on the pillow.
“Is this a hotel?” she asked.
“Something like that,” Grace said.
“Do we have to pay?”
“No, sweetheart.”
“Then it's a very good hotel.”
Grace smiled, but worry remained in her eyes.
That night, Lily woke from a nightmare.
She had dreamed that Lucas was lying on the floor again and that her inhaler had stopped working. She ran into her mother's room, crying.
Grace held her until she fell asleep.
In the morning, Daniel visited with a box of groceries and a small envelope.
“Mr. Moretti asked me to bring this.”
Grace opened it.
Inside was a check large enough to cover several months of rent.
“I can't accept this.”
“It's not payment for what Lily did,” Daniel said. “It's meant to cover the disruption and keep you both safe while the investigation continues.”
“I don't want to owe him.”
“You won't.”
Grace returned the check.
“Please tell him we don't need charity.”
Daniel studied her face.
“I'll tell him.”
When he returned to the mansion, Lucas was waiting.
“She refused,” Daniel said.
Lucas nodded as if he had expected it.
“Then don't force it. Pay her regular wages. Give her a choice about the rest.”
Daniel hesitated.
“There's something else. I found a connection between Paul Mercer and the warehouse attack three years ago.”
Lucas went still.
“What connection?”
“Paul's phone records show calls to the same number Victor used the night Isabella and Daniel died.”
The room became silent.
Lucas rose slowly.
“Bring me everything.”
Daniel placed another photograph on the desk.
It showed a man leaving a private clinic in New Jersey.
The man was older, thinner, and walking with a cane.
May you like
But Lucas recognized him.
Paul Mercer.
