Chapter 3 - The Man Behind the Camera
By sunrise, Andrew’s estate had become a fortress.
Additional guards arrived.
Every vehicle entering the property was searched.
Every employee was checked.
Every communication device connected to the internal network was isolated.
Andrew slept for less than an hour.
At 6:15 a.m., Lucas entered his office with a tablet.
“We found the camera.”
Andrew looked up.
“Where?”
“Study.”
Andrew immediately remembered the previous night.
Cindy had sat in that room.
The camera had been active long before they found it.
Lucas placed the tablet on the desk.
“Whoever installed it had access to your house.”
“Staff?”
“Maybe.”
“Maybe?”
Lucas swiped to a security image.
A maid.
A gardener.
A security officer.
Then Martin Hale.
Andrew’s expression hardened.
“Martin entered the house yesterday morning.”
“Under your authorization.”
“What was he doing?”
“He said he was dropping off financial reports.”
Andrew stared at the footage.
Martin had entered the study carrying a folder.
He stayed inside for eleven minutes.
When he left, the camera’s signal began.
Andrew leaned back.
“Find him.”
“We already tried.”
“And?”
“His car was abandoned outside Queens. No Martin.”
Andrew stood.
“Then he’s running.”
Lucas hesitated.
“There’s more.”
Andrew waited.
“The flash drive from Thomas Stone’s box is encrypted.”
“Crack it.”
“Working on it.”
“How long?”
“Could be hours.”
Andrew’s phone buzzed.
An unknown number.
He answered.
“Who is this?”
A man spoke.
“You should have left Cindy alone.”
Andrew’s eyes went cold.
“Where are you?”
“You still think this is about your business.”
“Tell me where you are.”
“It’s about blood.”
The line disconnected.
Lucas had already begun tracing.
Andrew looked at him.
“Anything?”
“Nothing yet.”
Cindy entered the room.
She had changed into borrowed clothes.
Her eyes were swollen from lack of sleep.
Andrew’s expression softened immediately.
“Why are you up?”
“You’re making enough noise to wake the dead.”
Lucas looked at Andrew.
“I’ll give you a minute.”
He left.
Cindy moved toward the desk.
“You know something.”
Andrew did not answer.
“That phone call.”
“You heard?”
“I was outside.”
He nodded.
“Someone is threatening you because of me.”
“Someone is threatening me because they think you know something.”
“I do.”
Andrew looked at her.
“What?”
Cindy reached into her pocket.
She held out a small memory card.
Andrew frowned.
“Where did that come from?”
“My sister sent it.”
“When?”
“Yesterday.”
“What’s on it?”
“I haven’t opened it.”
“Why?”
“Because my father told me never to open anything that appeared unexpectedly.”
Andrew took the card.
Lucas returned before Andrew could examine it.
“The flash drive is opening.”
They gathered around the computer.
A single video file appeared.
DATE: MARCH 17, 2020.
Andrew clicked play.
Thomas Stone appeared on screen.
Older.
Tired.
Terrified.
He looked directly into the camera.
“My name is Thomas Stone. If you are watching this, I am either dead or missing.”
Cindy covered her mouth.
Thomas continued.
“I discovered that several Carter Logistics subsidiaries were being used to move illegal funds without Andrew knowing.”
Andrew’s eyes narrowed.
His father appeared in the background.
Thomas continued.
“William Carter suspected the same thing. He ordered me to collect proof.”
Andrew froze.
His father had known.
For years Andrew had believed his father had ignored the corruption.
Now he realized the truth was more complicated.
Thomas’s voice trembled.
“The man responsible is not Elias.”
Cindy looked at Andrew.
The video continued.
“It is someone closer.”
The screen went black.
A second file appeared automatically.
Andrew clicked.
His father was speaking.
“Thomas, if something happens to me, the documents go to Andrew.”
Andrew stopped breathing.
His father looked straight into the camera.
“Andrew is the only person I trust.”
Cindy began crying silently.
Then Andrew’s father said the words that changed everything.
“And if anyone tells you Thomas stole from us, they are lying.”
The video ended.
Andrew sat motionless.
His father had known.
His father had trusted him.
And somebody had spent six years making sure Andrew never knew why Thomas vanished.
Cindy whispered, “My father was telling the truth.”
Andrew nodded.
“We need to find him.”
She stared.
“You think he’s alive?”
Andrew replayed the final seconds.
A reflection appeared in the glass behind his father.
A person.
Someone standing just outside camera range.
Andrew paused the video.
Zoomed.
The image was blurry.
But there was something recognizable.
A silver watch.
A distinctive ring.
Lucas leaned closer.
“Martin.”
Andrew shook his head.
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Because Martin had that watch five years ago.”
Lucas frowned.
“Your father’s board records show Martin wasn’t in the building that night.”
Andrew stared at the screen.
“Then who is that?”
The computer suddenly shut down.
The lights flickered.
The estate alarm began to scream.
Lucas reached for his gun.
“Power failure.”
Andrew grabbed Cindy.
“Stay behind me.”
Gunshots exploded outside.
Security personnel shouted.
A car crashed through the front gate.
Andrew pulled Cindy into the corridor.
“Basement,” he ordered.
“What about you?”
“I’m coming.”
“No.”
She grabbed his sleeve.
“You always say that.”
He looked at her.
She was crying.
“You always say you’re coming, but you don’t understand how this works anymore. They aren’t attacking me because I’m weak. They’re attacking me because I know something.”
Andrew stared at her.
“You think I don’t understand?”
“I think you’ve spent your whole life protecting everyone by making them afraid of you.”
Her voice broke.
“But I’m not afraid of your enemies.”
She looked directly into his eyes.
“I’m afraid of losing you.”
Andrew went perfectly still.
Another gunshot sounded.
Cindy closed her eyes.
“Please.”
Andrew cupped the side of her face.
“You’re not losing me.”
Then he kissed her.
It was brief.
Desperate.
Unplanned.
When they separated, Cindy stared at him in shock.
“So that was what you had to say?”
Andrew almost smiled.
“I’m bad at speeches.”
Lucas appeared at the end of the corridor.
“Romantic. Terrible timing.”
Andrew handed Cindy to him.
“Take her downstairs.”
“And you?”
“I’m ending this.”
He walked toward the gunfire.
Behind him, Cindy shouted his name.
Andrew turned.
May you like
“I’ll come back.”
This time, she believed him.
