Chapter 8 - THE FILE SHE CLAIMED NOT TO SEE
I held the message up.
Claire stared at it.
My father read the words over my shoulder.
“Is that true?”
“No.”
The denial came too quickly.
“You said you never opened the drive,” I said.
“I didn’t.”
“Then how does the sender know you have it?”
“I told you, someone is watching us.”
Adrian smiled faintly.
It was the first sign of confidence he had shown since my father arrived.
“You brought a liar into my home and expected her to save you.”
Claire turned on him.
“You should be more worried about what Marcus copied.”
“You don’t know what he copied.”
“That confirms there was something to copy.”
Vanessa stood again.
“I want to leave.”
My father nodded toward the door.
“No one is stopping you.”
Adrian blocked the staircase.
“You’re staying.”
She looked at him.
“Why?”
“Because anything you say outside this room can be used against both of us.”
“Both of us?”
Her voice rose.
“You said the signatures were harmless.”
Adrian’s gaze warned her to stop.
She did not.
“You said Elena had already approved everything. You said the divorce was only to make the transfers permanent.”
I felt the room tilt.
“How many papers did you sign using my name?”
Vanessa covered her mouth.
“I didn’t sign them.”
“You used my identity at the hotel.”
“That was only the visitor log.”
“What else?”
“I don’t know.”
Adrian stepped toward her.
“Enough.”
She flinched.
The movement was small, but I saw it.
For the first time, I wondered whether Adrian had controlled Vanessa with the same techniques he used on me.
Praise.
Luxury.
Isolation.
Fear.
She was not innocent.
But perhaps she had never been as powerful as she pretended.
My father picked up the flash drive.
“We’ll examine this on an isolated computer.”
Claire moved forward.
“You can’t connect it here.”
“Why?”
“It may contain tracking software.”
My father looked at her.
“How would you know that if you never opened it?”
Claire froze.
Adrian’s smile widened.
The security officer stepped toward her.
“Please place your briefcase on the floor.”
Claire obeyed.
My father opened it himself.
Inside were ordinary files, a laptop, two phones, and a small electronic device with a blinking green light.
Claire’s face lost color.
“That isn’t mine.”
My father lifted the device carefully.
“What is it?”
The security officer examined it.
“A wireless cloning unit. It can copy data from nearby devices.”
Everyone looked at the flash drive.
Claire shook her head.
“Someone planted it.”
Adrian laughed.
“Convenient.”
I watched him.
His shoulders had relaxed.
He wanted us focused on Claire.
That meant Claire might be compromised, but she was not the person he feared most.
I turned to Vanessa.
“Where is Marcus?”
“I don’t know.”
“You said he took the boxes.”
“He drove us away from the hotel. That was the last time I saw him.”
“Where did Adrian tell him to go?”
She closed her eyes.
“A storage facility near the river.”
Adrian’s face sharpened.
“Vanessa.”
She ignored him.
“He told Marcus to unload everything into Unit 214.”
My father’s security officer immediately called his team.
I looked at Adrian.
For the first time, he looked truly cornered.
Then my phone rang.
May you like
The caller ID displayed Marcus Hale.
Vanessa whispered, “That’s my brother.”
