Chapter 3 - THE EMPTY CRIB
I had killed men for less than what I felt in that moment.
“LOCK THE HOUSE!”
My voice shook the walls.
Security personnel flooded the corridors.
Doors slammed.
Weapons appeared.
Vincent grabbed my shoulder.
“Alexander—”
“Find her.”
“We will.”
“No.”
I shoved his hand away.
“I'll find her.”
The estate had thirty-two rooms.
Three staircases.
Two underground levels.
Four exterior gates.
Every door had security sensors.
Grace couldn't simply disappear.
Unless someone inside had helped her disappear.
I ran toward the nursery.
It was empty.
The crib was untouched.
The blanket I'd wrapped around Grace was lying on the floor.
I picked it up.
It was warm.
“She was here.”
Vincent entered behind me.
“Security footage?”
“Nothing.”
“What do you mean nothing?”
“The cameras went offline for exactly forty-seven seconds.”
I stared at him.
Forty-seven seconds.
Long enough.
“Who has access?”
“Me. You. Your chief administrator. Three senior guards.”
“Names.”
He gave them to me.
I knew every one.
“Bring them downstairs.”
Vincent hesitated.
“Alexander…”
“Now.”
A noise came from inside the wall.
We both turned.
Tap.
Tap.
Tap.
I approached the bookshelf.
Another tap.
I pulled a book.
Nothing.
Another.
The shelf shifted.
A hidden door opened.
Inside was a narrow passage.
Someone had built a secret route through my house.
And I had never known.
I entered.
Vincent followed.
The passage descended beneath the mansion.
At the bottom was a room.
There was a crib.
Food.
Baby clothes.
Medical supplies.
And dozens of photographs.
All of Grace.
My heart twisted.
Someone had been watching her.
For months.
I grabbed the nearest photograph.
Grace sleeping.
Another.
Hannah feeding her.
Another.
Grace crawling across the kitchen floor.
Then one stopped me.
It showed Julian.
Holding Grace.
And behind him stood a man wearing a black Caruso ring.
The face had been scratched out.
I turned the photograph.
A message:
HE IS COMING BACK FOR HER.
“Who?”
Vincent didn't answer.
I looked at him.
“Who is coming back?”
He whispered:
“Julian.”
A sound came from behind us.
Footsteps.
We spun around.
A figure ran through the passage.
“STOP!”
We chased him.
He was fast.
Too fast for a servant.
He reached the upper level.
Vincent fired into the ceiling.
The man stopped.
I tackled him.
His hood fell back.
It was Marco Bellini.
One of my father's former security officers.
I knew him.
He'd worked for us for twenty years.
“What did you do with my niece?”
He smiled.
“You shouldn't have found her.”
I grabbed his collar.
“Where is Grace?”
“You're already too late.”
I hit him.
Vincent caught my arm.
“Alexander!”
Marco laughed.
“You still don't understand.”
“Explain.”
“Julian isn't hiding from you.”
“Then who is he hiding from?”
Marco's smile disappeared.
“He's hiding you from them.”
“Who?”
Before he could answer, a sharp crack echoed through the hallway.
Marco collapsed.
A bullet had entered his chest.
I looked toward the far end of the corridor.
Nothing.
Whoever had shot him was already gone.
But on the floor beside Marco was a key.
I picked it up.
There was a number engraved on it.
27.
Vincent stared.
“Locker.”
“Where?”
“Old train station.”
I looked at the key.
Then at the blood spreading beneath Marco.
“What did he mean?”
Vincent didn't answer.
My phone rang.
Unknown number.
I answered.
No one spoke.
Then a child's cry came through.
Grace.
My entire body went cold.
“Who is this?”
A man's voice replied.
“You want the baby?”
“Yes.”
“Come alone.”
“Where?”
“Saint Mary's Hospital.”
The line went dead.
I looked at Vincent.
He was already shaking his head.
“It's a trap.”
“I know.”
“Then don't go.”
I picked up my coat.
“I'm going.”
“Alexander—”
I looked at him.
“If that's Grace crying, I'll walk into hell.”
Then my phone buzzed again.
May you like
A text appeared.
BRING THE $60 MILLION CONTRACT.
