Chapter 8 - The Shoes in the Recording
Alejandro returned to the hidden camera footage.
Emma had said the woman wore shoes that clicked.
Sofia’s shoes at the dinner had been quiet.
Mara enhanced the bottom of the video frame. The woman’s gown reached almost to the floor, but the tip of one shoe appeared when she stepped toward the desk.
Black patent leather.
A silver edge around the heel.
Elena recognized them first.
“Those belong to Beatrice.”
Beatrice Hall was the foundation’s director of events. She had been responsible for the evening’s dinner, guest list, and staff access.
Matteo ordered security to find her.
She was discovered in a catering van near the south gate, unconscious but alive. Her uniform had been removed, and a deep red gown had been placed beside her.
When she regained consciousness, Beatrice remembered drinking tea in the service kitchen. After that, nothing.
Someone had stolen her black shoes.
The shoes themselves were found in a laundry bin. Inside one heel, the forensic team discovered traces of stage adhesive and a thin piece of silicone.
A facial disguise.
The woman in the study had not merely relied on altered video. She had physically disguised herself as Sofia in case anyone saw her directly.
That explained Emma’s strange description.
The same face.
The wrong smell.
The wrong shoes.
The evidence from Sofia’s car had also been planted. Someone wanted every path to lead back to her.
Yet Sofia’s real voice had still been captured speaking about the transfer. She might not have poured the substance into the glass, but she had participated in the plan.
Alejandro could not decide whether she was a conspirator, a victim, or both.
At dawn, Dr. Shah allowed him to leave the medical suite on the condition that he remain inside the estate.
He ignored the second part.
By 7:15 a.m., Alejandro, Matteo, Elena, and two security teams were traveling toward the Moretti Foundation headquarters. Emma remained at the estate under Dr. Shah’s protection.
Elena had refused to leave her at first. Emma settled the argument by holding up the stuffed bunny.
“Bunny says Mommy has to finish Daddy’s job.”
The foundation building stood twenty stories above the financial district. Its public floors were made of bright glass and white stone. Beneath them were three underground levels built decades earlier by Alejandro’s grandfather.
The lowest level no longer appeared on modern blueprints.
Celia’s black keycard opened a service elevator.
They descended below the parking garage.
The doors opened onto a narrow corridor illuminated by red emergency lights. Dust covered the floor, except for a recent trail of footprints.
Someone had entered before them.
At the far end stood a steel door painted dark red.
Elena whispered, “The red door.”
Alejandro placed Daniel’s heart-shaped authentication key against a panel. A small light turned green.
Celia’s card opened the outer lock.
The steel door moved inward.
Rows of filing cabinets filled the room. Old computer servers lined the rear wall. On a central table sat a single folder bearing Daniel Morales’s name.
Elena reached for it.
A voice came from the darkness.
“You should have left your husband buried.”
Adrian Moretti stepped between the servers.
May you like
He held a lighter in one hand.
In the other, he held Daniel’s file.
