Chapter 4 - The Night Someone Came for Matthew
The estate vanished into darkness.
For three seconds, there was silence.
Then alarms erupted.
The emergency lights came on.
I grabbed Camila's arm.
“Where is Matthew?”
She stared at me.
“I don't know.”
My blood turned to ice.
I called Mrs. Alvarez.
No answer.
Again.
Nothing.
I called the Bridgeport number.
The line rang.
Then stopped.
I ran to the security room.
Three camera feeds were black.
One remained active.
The gate.
A black SUV had entered the property using a valid Vance security credential.
“Who authorized this?”
The head of security, Marcus Dean, looked at the screen.
“That credential belongs to you.”
“I haven't used it.”
He looked at me.
“Then someone cloned it.”
I immediately called the police.
Then my phone buzzed.
Unknown number.
A video message.
I opened it.
Matthew was sitting in a dark room.
He looked frightened but unharmed.
A man stood behind him.
His face was hidden.
A voice came through the speaker.
“You should have stayed out of this.”
I felt my entire body go numb.
“What do you want?”
The message continued.
“Bring Nicholas's evidence.”
“Why?”
“You know why.”
The video ended.
Camila was crying.
I turned toward her.
“Did you know this would happen?”
“No.”
“Did your father?”
She flinched.
That was enough.
I pointed toward the door.
“Tell me everything.”
She sank into a chair.
“My father recruited me.”
“For what?”
“To help him gain access to Vance Global.”
I stared at her.
“Why?”
“Because his company was drowning.”
“How?”
“Debt.”
She began crying.
“He needed contracts. Your family had them.”
“So he used you.”
“Yes.”
“Did you love Nicholas?”
She closed her eyes.
“I cared about him.”
“That isn't what I asked.”
“He was my friend.”
“You met him secretly.”
“I was trying to get information.”
“You knew about Matthew.”
“Yes.”
“Did you hurt Rose?”
“No.”
I wanted to believe her.
I didn't.
She continued.
“Nicholas discovered what my father was doing. He confronted me.”
“And you stopped him?”
“I tried to convince him to disappear.”
“Why?”
“Because my father had already threatened him.”
“You should have told me.”
“I was terrified.”
“You watched him die.”
Camila's face crumpled.
“I didn't.”
She looked up.
“I swear to you, Alex. I did not kill Nicholas.”
I stared at her.
“Then who did?”
“I don't know.”
She reached into her purse.
Her hand trembled as she pulled out a small envelope.
“I've kept this for three years.”
Inside was a photograph.
Nicholas's damaged car.
On the back was a handwritten note.
Brake inspection canceled.
I looked at her.
“Where did you get this?”
“From someone inside my father's company.”
“Who?”
“I don't know. They mailed it anonymously.”
“Why didn't you give it to police?”
“Because my father warned me that if I talked, he'd make sure I went to prison.”
I laughed without humor.
“You were still going to marry me.”
“I loved you.”
“You lied to me.”
“I know.”
A loud crash came from upstairs.
We both froze.
Marcus ran toward the stairs.
I followed.
The nursery room door was open.
I had not used that room in years.
There was a child-sized backpack on the floor.
Inside was Matthew's favorite toy truck.
A message had been written across the wall.
YOU SHOULD HAVE LISTENED TO YOUR BROTHER.
My knees almost gave out.
The kidnappers wanted me to know this wasn't random.
They knew about Nicholas.
They knew about the trust.
They knew about Matthew.
I turned to Marcus.
“Seal every road.”
He nodded.
Then Camila whispered:
“Alex.”
“What?”
She pointed at the floor.
A wet footprint.
Small.
Not an adult.
A child's shoe print.
My heart stopped.
Matthew had been inside the house.
At least recently.
Someone had brought him here.
Why?
I followed the prints.
They disappeared near the wine cellar.
I opened the door.
Darkness.
The security lights flickered on.
At the bottom of the staircase, I found a small plastic dinosaur.
Matthew's.
I picked it up.
A folded piece of paper was beneath it.
Alex—
Don't trust the man closest to you.
I looked at Marcus.
He looked at Camila.
Camila looked at me.
Someone had planted the note deliberately.
Then a gunshot exploded somewhere outside.
Marcus pushed me down.
Glass shattered.
We waited.
Another shot.
Then silence.
Police arrived minutes later.
The SUV was abandoned near the east gate.
Inside, investigators found one thing.
A Vance Global employee access card.
May you like
The employee was Daniel Mercer.
My attorney.
