Chương 7
Do you still have Dad’s old storage key?
Noah had replied, Why?
There was no answer.
“When did your father die?”
Noah’s expression hardened.
“You were at the funeral.”
“I know when generally.”
“Four years ago.”
“What was in the unit?”
“I don’t know.”
“You never went?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
Noah looked offended.
“Because it was his junk.”
“Documents?”
“Maybe.”
“Company records?”
“He didn’t have a company.”
“What did he do?”
Noah gave a disbelieving laugh.
“You’re marrying his daughter and you don’t know?”
Adrian said nothing.
Noah’s amusement vanished.
“He was an accountant.”
“For whom?”
“A lot of people.”
“Names.”
“I don’t know.”
Daniel stepped closer.
“Private practice?”
“No.”
“He worked in corporate restructuring,” Noah said.
Adrian’s stomach tightened.
“Where?”
Noah looked between them.
“Vance Logistics.”
The foyer noise seemed to recede.
Daniel spoke first.
“Julian Vance?”
Noah nodded slowly.
“For almost fifteen years.”
Adrian handed the phone back.
“Elena told me her father was an accountant.”
“He was.”
“She never mentioned Vance.”
Noah shoved the phone into his pocket.
“Maybe because she knew you’d react like this.”
“Like what?”
“Like everything in her life is suddenly evidence.”
Adrian’s jaw tightened.
Noah stepped closer.
“My sister is missing.”
“I know.”
“Do you?”
Adrian’s expression changed.
Noah did not back down.
“You’re standing here interrogating me about my dead father while nobody will tell me where Elena is.”
“We have reason to believe she left the property under unusual circumstances.”
“What does that mean?”
“A car left using a stolen security credential.”
“With her in it?”
“We have a photograph.”
“Show me.”
Daniel said, “Adrian.”
Noah turned on him.
“Don’t.”
Daniel stopped.
Adrian took out his phone and opened the image.
Noah stared at it for several seconds.
His breathing changed.
“That’s her coat.”
“Yes.”
“She looks scared.”
“She may be.”
“May be?”
“We don’t know whether the photograph was staged.”
Noah looked at Adrian as if he had struck him.
“You think Elena staged her own kidnapping.”
“I think I don’t know enough yet.”
“My sister is in a car with someone who stole a security pass.”
“And she may have gotten into it willingly.”
Noah shoved the phone back toward him.
“You always do this.”
Adrian caught the device.
“Do what?”
“Turn people into risk categories.”
Adrian said nothing.
Noah’s voice dropped.
“She loved you.”
The past tense hit harder than Adrian expected.
“She may still.”
“Then act like it.”
Noah walked away.
Margaret Cross intercepted Adrian before he could follow.
She was seventy-one, widowed twice, and had never considered tact a meaningful social duty.
“What did you do?”
“Nothing.”
“That is never reassuring when a Cross man says it.”
“Aunt Margaret.”
“Is Elena pregnant?”
“No.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
“Did you cheat?”
“No.”
“Did she?”
“I don’t know.”
Margaret blinked.
That answer was enough to silence her briefly.
“What happened?”
Adrian looked at the crowd.
“Something involving the company.”
Margaret’s expression changed from family curiosity to family history.
“Your father always said never mix the company with marriage.”
“My father also had three marriages.”
“Yes, but he was consistent about his mistakes.”
Adrian almost smiled.
Margaret touched his wet sleeve.
“You look awful.”
“I’ve heard.”
“Go change.”
“I have police in my office.”
“Police have seen dry clothing.”
“I’m busy.”
“You’re hiding in activity.”
Adrian looked down at her.
Margaret lifted one shoulder.
“I’m old, not stupid.”
Before he could answer, Daniel called his name.
Two detectives stood at the edge of the foyer.
Adrian moved toward them.
The older detective introduced herself as Mara Ruiz.
Her partner, Colin Beck, carried a tablet and the tired expression of someone who had already decided the house was going to produce paperwork.
Ruiz looked past Adrian toward the guests.
“We need a private room.”
“Library.”
“Not the office where the device was found.”
Adrian appreciated that.
He led them into the library.
Daniel joined them.
Simon remained outside to manage the guests and corporate staff.
Ruiz closed the door.
“Start with the missing person.”
Adrian did.
He described Elena’s departure, the photograph, the text, Simon’s credential, and the call telling him to proceed with the wedding and sign documents on Sunday.
Ruiz interrupted frequently.
“Exact wording?”
“Who else heard it?”
“What time?”
“Which phone?”
“Who has access to the security system?”
When Adrian mentioned the recorder, Beck looked up.
“That was discovered by the child?”
“Yes.”
“Where is she?”
“With her mother.”
“Safe location?”
“As far as I know.”
Ruiz looked at Daniel.
Daniel gave the address.
Adrian disliked hearing it spoken aloud.
Ruiz noticed.
“She’s a witness.”
“She’s also seven.”
“Those can both be true.”
Adrian leaned back.
Ruiz continued.
“Did Elena have any reason to fear you?”
Daniel’s head turned.
Adrian did not.
“No.”
“Any history of domestic violence?”
“No.”
“Threats?”
“No.”
“Controlling behavior?”
Adrian almost laughed.
Daniel did not.
Ruiz waited.
Adrian said, “Define controlling.”
“Do you monitor her accounts?”
“We have shared financial reporting.”
“That isn’t what I asked.”
“I don’t read her messages.”
“Track her location?”
“No.”
“Control access to money?”
“No.”
“Staff?”
“She has authority over household staff when she’s here.”
“Security?”
“No.”
“Would she need your permission to leave?”
“No.”
Ruiz nodded.
Beck typed.
Adrian felt irritated by the rhythm of the questions and more irritated that he understood why they were necessary.
Ruiz asked, “Did you argue today?”
“No.”
“Recently?”
“Yes.”
“About?”
“The prenuptial agreement.”
Daniel looked at him.
Adrian continued.
“Elena thought parts of it were insulting.”
“How?”
“Separate-property protections.”
“Anything unusual?”
“Not in the version I reviewed.”
Ruiz leaned forward.
“What does she gain from the marriage?”
Daniel answered.
“Depends on timing, death, divorce, and specific triggering events.”
Ruiz looked at Adrian.
“Plain English.”
“She gains financial protection.”
“How much?”
“Enough that it matters.”
“That’s not a number.”
Daniel gave her one.
The room became quieter.
Beck stopped typing for half a second.
Ruiz said, “And you believe someone altered the agreement.”
“We have reason to investigate that.”
“What alteration?”
May you like
“We don’t know.”
“So far you have a child’s statement about a red folder and a suspicious recording device.”
