Chapter 3 - The Second Key
At the hospital, Oliver finally fell asleep against Adrian's chest.
The doctor said the first scans looked normal. Maria sat nearby with an ice pack against her shoulder, refusing treatment until Oliver had been checked twice.
Adrian watched her for a long moment.
"You saved his life."
Maria looked down. "I just caught him."
"That's not just anything."
Her eyes filled, but she blinked the tears away.
"I need to tell you something."
Adrian stiffened.
Maria told him that Vanessa had been acting differently for weeks. Not cruel in obvious ways. Careful ways. She had started asking where Adrian kept old family documents, whether Oliver's late mother, Claire, had left sealed letters, whether the nursery had hidden storage.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because every time I tried, she was already in the room. Or you were leaving for another meeting. And when I finally said I wanted to talk privately, she warned me to keep my mouth shut."
Adrian closed his eyes.
He had mistaken Vanessa's constant presence for devotion.
At 11:18 p.m., Grant called.
"We found something."
Back at the mansion, the security room door showed no forced entry. The internal camera captured a man entering at 7:42 using a mechanical emergency key.
The man wore a maintenance jacket and cap.
But when he turned, Adrian recognized him instantly.
Marcus Vale.
Adrian's chief financial officer.
His closest friend from college.
The godfather Adrian had chosen for Oliver.
"No," Adrian whispered.
Grant enlarged the frame.
Marcus looked directly at the hallway camera before entering the security room.
He knew exactly where it was.
Adrian called him.
No answer.
He called again.
Voicemail.
Then Maria's phone buzzed.
Unknown number.
She opened the message.
YOU CAUGHT THE BABY.
May you like
YOU WON'T CATCH THE NEXT THING THAT FALLS.
Attached was a photograph taken through the hospital window less than three minutes earlier.
