Chapter 2 - The Maid Who Knew Too MuchThe family floor was already under attack.
Three men in black tactical clothing moved through the east corridor.
My guards engaged them.
Gunfire tore through the hallway.
I pushed my daughters behind the kitchen island.
“Stay down!”
Claire crouched beside Emma.
“Look at me.”
Emma did.
“Don't watch the door.”
Emma nodded.
“Watch me.”
That calm voice steadied the child.
It steadied me too.
I moved to the hallway.
Daniel was firing from behind a stone pillar.
“Six!”
“Six what?”
“Six men!”
“Where?”
“Two coming from the library!”
I fired.
One went down.
Another disappeared behind a wall.
My guards returned fire.
Then the lights came back.
Silence.
We checked every room.
Three dead.
Two escaped.
One captured.
The captured man was young.
Twenty-four, maybe.
His hands shook.
I dragged him into the study.
“Who sent you?”
He said nothing.
I placed a photograph of Elena in front of him.
“You know who she is?”
He looked at it.
Then away.
“Who sent you?”
Nothing.
I grabbed him.
“Answer me.”
Claire entered.
“Stop.”
I looked at her.
“This doesn't concern you.”
She walked toward the prisoner.
“He's terrified.”
“He should be.”
“No.”
She examined his wrist.
Then said:
“He's wearing a restraint mark.”
“What?”
She pulled back his sleeve.
There were bruises around both wrists.
“Someone had him tied up.”
The prisoner looked at her.
She leaned closer.
“They threatened your family?”
His eyes filled with tears.
He nodded.
“Who?”
He whispered:
“Daniel.”
I looked behind me.
Daniel wasn't there.
I turned.
“Where is he?”
No answer.
My stomach tightened.
I went to the security room.
The cameras showed Daniel leaving the building.
Alone.
At exactly the time the attack began.
I stared at the timestamp.
He had been gone for eleven minutes.
No order had been given.
No authorization.
He had simply left.
My phone rang.
Daniel.
I answered.
“Where are you?”
His voice was calm.
“Handling the breach.”
“You left your post.”
“I had a lead.”
“What lead?”
Silence.
Then:
“Claire Whitman.”
My eyes narrowed.
“You know her?”
“I know what she is.”
“What is she?”
“Ask her what happened in Saint Mary's Hospital three years ago.”
The call ended.
I looked at Claire.
She was standing in the doorway.
“You know about Saint Mary's?”
Her expression hardened.
“Yes.”
“What happened?”
“I worked there.”
“As a doctor?”
“Almost.”
I stepped closer.
“What does that mean?”
“I was a medical resident.”
“Then why are you cleaning my house?”
She gave a faint smile.
“Because I wasn't allowed to practice medicine anymore.”
“Why?”
“Because someone made sure I couldn't.”
I said nothing.
“Who?”
“Your organization.”
My jaw tightened.
“You're accusing me?”
“No.”
“Then who?”
“Your wife.”
That stopped me.
“Elena?”
“She asked me to disappear.”
“Why?”
Claire looked toward Emma.
“Because I knew what happened to your children.”
I stared.
“What happened?”
Claire sat.
“Three years ago, Elena discovered that the bombing wasn't meant to kill her.”
I froze.
“It was meant to kill Ava.”
“No.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because Ava saw something she wasn't supposed to see.”
“What?”
Claire looked at Ava.
Ava was sitting on the stairs.
She stared at us.
Then she whispered:
“The garage.”
Claire nodded.
“The garage.”
I turned to Ava.
“What did you see?”
Ava shook her head.
“Mommy said not to tell.”
“Tell me.”
She covered her ears.
“No.”
Claire approached her.
“That's okay.”
Ava looked at Claire.
“She said Daddy would be angry.”
I felt something tear open inside me.
“Why would Elena think I'd be angry?”
Claire didn't answer.
Because the answer was obvious.
Elena hadn't trusted me with the truth.
“What happened in the garage?” I asked.
Ava whispered:
“Daddy's men were moving Mommy's boxes.”
My blood ran cold.
“What boxes?”
“I don't know.”
“Who was there?”
“Uncle Daniel.”
I closed my eyes.
Daniel had worked for me for eleven years.
He had been there when Elena died.
He had been one of the men who carried her coffin.
He had cried at the funeral.
I'd trusted him with my children's lives.
Claire spoke softly.
“Your wife discovered someone was using your organization to traffic information.”
“What kind of information?”
“Names. Addresses. Family details. Medical records.”
“Why?”
“So enemies could hurt the people close to you.”
I looked at Emma.
“No.”
Claire met my gaze.
“Yes.”
Emma had gone silent again.
I knelt.
“Emma.”
She looked at me.
“Do you remember the car?”
She nodded.
“Who was driving?”
Her lips trembled.
Then she whispered:
“Daniel.”
The room seemed to disappear.
I stood.
Claire caught my arm.
“Don't confront him yet.”
“Why?”
“Because if Daniel is the traitor, he's not working alone.”
“Who else?”
Claire's expression changed.
“Someone who has been closer to your family than any security officer.”
“Who?”
She stared toward the framed wedding photograph above the fireplace.
“Your wife's sister.”
I froze.
“Lillian?”
Claire nodded.
“She wasn't your wife's sister.”
My chest tightened.
“What?”
“Lillian Kane was recruited by Orpheus.”
I had heard the name before.
Orpheus.
A shadow network buried beneath old organizations.
I had always dismissed it as rumor.
Claire didn't look like a woman who believed in rumors.
“What is Orpheus?”
May you like
She whispered:
“The people who built your empire.”
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