Chapter 10 - The Missing Camera
Maya stopped breathing.
Agent Sloan took the phone.
Vance immediately moved to Noah’s crib.
The baby was safe.
The federal officer checked every entrance.
Sloan enlarged the photograph.
“It was taken before the banquet.”
Maya recognized the blue blanket beneath Noah.
“He wore that yesterday afternoon.”
“Who was in your home?”
“Our nanny.”
“Anyone else?”
“Household staff.”
“Victoria has keys.”
Adrian stared at the threat.
“My mother would never harm Noah.”
Maya turned on him.
“You no longer know what your mother would do.”
“I know her better than you do.”
“That is exactly why you should be afraid.”
Sloan sent the image to the cyber unit.
The message had been routed through several encrypted servers.
But the original photograph contained a reflection.
In the silver edge of the crib, a figure could be seen holding the camera.
The image was distorted.
Only part of a sleeve was visible.
Dark blue fabric.
A gold button.
Vance looked at Adrian’s jacket.
It was dark blue with gold buttons.
Adrian’s face changed.
“That is not me.”
Maya’s stomach turned.
“Were you in the nursery?”
“Not when that was taken.”
Sloan faced the federal officers.
“Separate him.”
Adrian raised both hands.
“I did not send that message.”
The officers led him into the hallway.
Maya watched him go.
She wanted to believe him.
The instinct embarrassed her.
Love did not vanish the moment truth appeared.
It died slowly, resisting every piece of evidence.
Sloan received a call from the cyber team.
“The photograph originated from a hidden camera.”
Maya looked around the room as though someone might be watching now.
“Where?”
“Your house.”
“How do you know?”
“The file carries a device signature registered to Sterling Home Security.”
Vance’s expression darkened.
“Who owns the system?”
“Victoria controls the central account,” Maya said.
A search team was dispatched to Maya and Adrian’s home.
Within forty minutes, they found eight hidden cameras.
One faced Maya’s desk.
Another faced the nursery.
A third had been installed inside the closet where Maya stored legal documents.
The system had recorded her for more than two years.
Agent Sloan returned with a tablet.
“There is another problem.”
She played a video from the previous week.
Victoria stood in the nursery beside Noah’s crib.
Adrian was with her.
Victoria held a folder.
“You get her signature before the merger announcement,” she said.
“And if she refuses?”
Victoria looked down at the sleeping baby.
“Then remind her what she has to lose.”
The recording ended.
Maya felt the final thread connecting her to Adrian break.
But Vance had noticed something else.
In the mirror behind Victoria, a third person was standing outside the nursery door.
May you like
The figure wore a dark blue uniform with gold buttons.
It was the same uniform reflected in the threatening photograph.
