Chapter 5 - The Eye in the Ceiling.
Adrian's security team removed the hidden camera at three twelve in the morning.
It had been installed inside a smoke detector above the living room.
The device was professional, wireless, and newer than the detector itself.
Someone had entered the penthouse within the past two weeks.
Claire stood beside Noah's temporary bed while the technicians worked.
Every time a man crossed too close to the baby, her body tightened.
Adrian noticed all of it.
He dismissed everyone except Evelyn and his oldest security officer, Peter Hale.
Peter had worked for Thomas Cafalli before Adrian finished college.
If Adrian trusted anyone in the company, it was him.
"I want a complete sweep," Adrian said.
Peter nodded.
"And Gabriel?"
Adrian looked at him.
"Do not contact Gabriel."
Peter's expression changed.
"You think he's involved?"
"I think two men accessed a floor he designed the override system for."
Peter did not argue.
He left quietly.
Claire sat beside Noah.
"You still haven't asked why I became your maid."
Adrian turned toward her.
"I assumed you needed a job."
"I did."
She gave him a tired look.
"But Daniel left me your address."
Adrian stared at her.
"You applied here because of him?"
"Yes."
Anger flashed through him.
"So for eleven months, you've been inside my home under false pretenses."
Claire stood.
"I cleaned your bathrooms, washed your sheets, and worked twelve-hour shifts when your house manager was short-staffed. I earned every dollar you paid me."
"That's not the point."
"Then what is?"
"You lied to me."
She laughed once, without humor.
"I was trying to keep my son alive."
The words silenced him.
Claire reached into her uniform pocket and pulled out a folded photograph.
It showed Daniel beside Thomas Cafalli outside a small office building.
On the back, Daniel had written three words.
TRUST THE SON.
Adrian read them twice.
"When was this taken?"
"Two weeks before Daniel disappeared."
Adrian's throat tightened.
His father had been dead for years by then.
"That's impossible."
Claire frowned.
"What?"
He handed the photograph back.
"My father died six years ago."
Claire looked at the picture again.
The blood drained from her face.
"Daniel told me the man beside him was Thomas Cafalli."
"It isn't."
Adrian leaned closer.
The man looked like Thomas from a distance.
Same silver hair.
Same posture.
Same expensive overcoat.
But Adrian knew the slight curve of his father's left ear from a childhood accident.
This man's ear was unmarked.
Adrian felt sick.
"That's my uncle Victor."
Claire's eyes widened.
Victor Cafalli was Thomas's younger brother.
He had left the company after Thomas's death and rarely appeared in public.
Adrian had not spoken to him in nearly four years.
His phone buzzed.
Marcus had sent the Daniel Dawson audit file.
Adrian opened the first page.
The approval signature at the bottom belonged to Victor Cafalli.
Victor had supposedly had no role in the company at the time.
Claire whispered, "Mr. Cafalli?"
Adrian looked up.
"Your husband didn't discover thieves inside my company."
May you like
He turned the screen toward her.
"He discovered my family."
