Chapter 6 - The Missing Samples.
The underground garage was three floors beneath the ballroom, but Adrian reached it in less than four minutes.
Malcolm had locked the elevators to everyone except his security team.
Mara came with Adrian despite his objections.
Celeste followed because the missing samples were connected to her father whether she liked it or not.
Dr. Hana Liu's black sedan stood in a reserved space beside a concrete pillar.
The driver's door was open.
Her purse lay on the ground.
One heel was broken near the rear tire.
Mara stopped walking.
"This isn't a lost package anymore."
Adrian's jaw tightened.
Malcolm's officers spread out through the garage.
A faint banging came from the maintenance corridor.
They followed it to a locked supply room.
Inside, Hana sat on the floor with her wrists tied loosely in front of her.
She was shaken but uninjured.
Malcolm cut the restraints.
"Who did this?"
Hana drew a breath.
"A man in a hotel security jacket."
Adrian looked at Malcolm.
"One of yours?"
"No."
Hana continued.
"He knew my name, and he knew exactly what I was carrying."
Mara crouched beside her.
"Did he take all five samples?"
Hana shook her head.
"He took the transport case."
Then she reached beneath the lining of her purse and pulled out a tiny sealed evidence pouch.
Inside were five labeled swabs.
Adrian stared.
Hana gave him a tired smile.
"I don't transport sensitive samples in the case everyone can see."
For the first time that night, Adrian felt something like hope.
"Can you still run them?"
"Yes."
"Not at your lab."
"I agree."
Hana called a colleague at a university genetics facility across the river.
She would take the samples there herself with two police officers once a formal report was made.
Adrian hesitated at the word police.
Victoria had spent decades cultivating city officials, commissioners, and prosecutors.
Mara saw the hesitation.
"If you hide this, you're no better than she is."
He looked at her.
"I'm not hiding it."
He called the police himself.
That decision changed the night.
The gala upstairs could no longer be managed as a private family embarrassment.
Within minutes, two detectives entered the garage and began photographing the scene.
Hana gave her statement.
Malcolm handed over access logs.
Adrian told them everything he knew, including his mother's car and the fake airline tickets.
Mara watched him carefully.
He did not ask for special treatment.
He did not call a politician.
He did not try to keep the Vale name out of the report.
The detectives were still taking notes when one of Malcolm's officers ran toward them.
"We found the fake security jacket."
He held up a clear evidence bag.
Inside was a dark jacket with the Aurelia Grand logo.
A room-service receipt was tucked in the pocket.
The room number belonged to a suite reserved under the name of Graham Cole.
Adrian turned to Malcolm.
"Find him."
Malcolm checked his tablet.
"He left the ballroom fifteen minutes ago."
Mara's eyes widened.
"My boys."
Adrian was already calling the residence.
No answer.
He called again.
Still nothing.
Then Noah answered, breathless and whispering.
"Mr. White Suit?"
Adrian's blood ran cold.
"Noah, where is Malcolm's guard?"
"Sleeping."
"What do you mean sleeping?"
Noah whispered even more softly.
"A man brought us juice."
Behind him, Adrian heard a door click open.
Then Graham Cole's voice came through the phone.
May you like
"Good boy."
The line went dead.
