Chapter 5 - The Camera Behind The Christmas Tree
The following morning, Gideon moved Lumi to a secure room without telling her why.
She thought it was a game.
"Secret room?"
"Something like that."
"Do I get a secret password?"
"Yes."
"What is it?"
Gideon looked at her.
"Snowflake."
She smiled.
"I like it."
He smiled back.
"You should."
Security doubled around the property.
Daniel installed cameras.
Mrs. Bell moved her bedroom downstairs.
Gideon barely slept.
At 2:13 a.m., one of the alarms triggered.
A person had crossed the eastern boundary.
Security chased them into the woods.
They found no one.
But they did find a small camera attached beneath a branch.
Gideon stared at it.
"Someone has been watching the house."
Daniel nodded.
"How long?"
"At least three weeks."
Gideon's expression darkened.
"Since before I found her."
"Yes."
They searched the house.
Behind a Christmas decoration in the old library, they found another hidden camera.
Then another.
Someone had access to Vale House.
Someone had been watching Lumi.
Gideon went upstairs.
Lumi was awake.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing."
She pointed to the window.
"There was a man."
Gideon froze.
"What man?"
"Outside."
"When?"
"Last night."
"Did he talk to you?"
"No."
"What did he do?"
"Just stood there."
Gideon's pulse raced.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"I thought you'd be angry."
"Why would I be angry?"
"You said no one was supposed to look in windows."
He closed his eyes.
"You're not in trouble."
He knelt beside her.
"Never for telling me the truth."
Lumi stared at him.
"Promise?"
"Promise."
The next clue came from the box.
A tiny key.
Gideon had overlooked it because it was sewn into the lining.
The key opened a locker at Asheford Central Station.
Inside was an old voice recorder.
Evelyn's voice came through the speaker.
"Gideon, if this reaches you, then things have gone very wrong."
Gideon went still.
"I know Father is moving money through the charity. Marcus is helping him."
The recording crackled.
"Celeste knows about Lumi, but I don't know whose side she's on anymore."
Another pause.
"And Daniel is alive."
Gideon whispered.
"Daniel."
Evelyn continued.
"He's hiding because they threatened to kill him. They want Lumi because of the trust."
The recording ended.
There was another file.
This time Evelyn sounded terrified.
"If something happens to me, don't trust any document signed after my death."
Gideon listened twice.
Then a third time.
Daniel turned toward him.
"Sir."
"Find him."
"We will."
Three hours later, they traced a bank transaction to a small mountain town.
Daniel Hart was alive.
Gideon drove there immediately.
When Daniel opened the cabin door, he nearly collapsed at the sight of Gideon.
"You found her."
Gideon stared.
"You knew?"
Daniel's eyes filled.
"Of course."
"Why didn't you come?"
"Because they told me if I showed my face, Lumi would die."
Gideon's anger softened into horror.
"Who?"
"Your father."
"He's dead."
"His network isn't."
Daniel looked over Gideon's shoulder.
"Is she with you?"
"No."
Daniel stopped breathing.
"You came alone?"
"Yes."
"Good."
"Why?"
"Because you're being followed."
Gideon turned.
Two black SUVs appeared on the road.
Daniel grabbed him.
"Back door."
They ran.
Shots shattered the windows.
Gideon had been shot at before, but this time fear was different.
He wasn't protecting himself.
He was protecting the father of the child sleeping under his roof.
They escaped through the woods.
Daniel finally told him everything.
"Evelyn planned to expose your father's accounts."
"Then why didn't she?"
"They killed her."
"Who?"
"Marcus arranged the car."
Gideon clenched his jaw.
"And Celeste?"
"Celeste helped hide Lumi."
"Why?"
"At first, she was protecting her."
"At first?"
Daniel looked at him.
"Then the money became too tempting."
Gideon was silent.
"What about Lumi's trust?"
"Your father created it because Evelyn threatened him with exposure."
"Why would he give her millions?"
"He didn't."
Daniel paused.
"He transferred shares."
"What shares?"
"The controlling shares of Vale Family Holdings."
Gideon stared.
"How many?"
"Thirty-two percent."
He stopped walking.
"That's impossible."
"Your father feared Evelyn would expose him, so he transferred ownership to her unborn child. But he created a trust that made Celeste the temporary administrator."
"And if Lumi died?"
"Control returned to the family."
Gideon understood.
"She was worth billions."
Daniel nodded.
"That's why they wanted her invisible."
Suddenly, everything made sense.
The hunger.
The false records.
The foster transfers.
The park.
Lumi hadn't been abandoned because she was unwanted.
She had been abandoned because she was too important.
They returned to Vale House before sunrise.
Gideon found Lumi asleep on the couch, clutching his scarf.
He knelt.
She opened her eyes.
"Did you come back?"
"Always."
She reached for him.
This time, he picked her up.
She rested her head against his shoulder.
"You're warm."
"You're safe."
Daniel stood in the doorway, crying silently.
For six years, he had believed he had lost his daughter.
For six years, Gideon had believed he had lost his sister.
May you like
Now the three of them stood in the same house.
And somewhere outside, the people who had stolen those six years were preparing for a final fight.
