Chapter 2 - THE MESSAGE IN THE RABBIT
After the scream upstairs, Adrian did not run.
Men like him learned early that running caused crowds to panic and enemies to measure fear. He continued climbing the grand staircase at a steady pace while two members of his private security team moved ahead.
Behind him, hundreds of guests remained in the ballroom, uncertain whether they were witnessing a family scandal or a crime.
Margaret Westwood held Emma against the folds of her champagne gown. Rachel stood beside them, breathing too quickly.
Madison remained at the bottom of the stairs.
“Adrian,” she called, “come back.”
He looked over the railing.
“Give me your phone.”
Her face barely changed.
“I don’t have it.”
“You were typing.”
“I was asking my driver to bring the car.”
“Then you won’t mind proving it.”
The security chief, Owen Pierce, reached the upper landing and stopped outside Madison’s dressing room. The door stood open. One of the mirrors had shattered. A rack of blue evening gowns had been pulled away from the wall, revealing a narrow wooden panel.
The panel was open.
Behind it was a passage less than three feet wide.
A man in catering whites lay unconscious on the floor, blood running from a cut above his ear. Beside him, a metal case had burst open. Inside were coils of wire, two fuel canisters, and a small electronic timer.
Owen knelt and checked the man’s pulse.
“Alive.”
Adrian examined the equipment.
“Incendiary?”
“Yes.”
A second security officer entered the passage and shouted, “Movement ahead.”
The lights went out.
For three seconds, darkness swallowed the upper floor.
Then the emergency system activated, filling the corridor with red light.
A figure raced through the hidden passage.
Owen pursued him.
Adrian turned to the dressing room. Blue gowns hung like silent witnesses. On the carpet near the secret panel lay a black phone with a cracked screen.
He picked it up.
The last message had been sent to a contact saved only as V.
BURN EVERYTHING.
A reply appeared.
TOO LATE. THE CHILD HAS IT.
Adrian looked toward the ballroom.
Emma.
He descended quickly now.
Madison had vanished.
The ballroom erupted as Adrian reached the floor. Guests were being directed toward the terrace exits. Security locked the main doors. Margaret stood near the piano with Emma and Rachel.
“Where is Madison?” Adrian demanded.
Margaret’s expression sharpened. “She was here.”
Rachel pulled Emma behind her.
Adrian crouched in front of the child.
“Emma, someone thinks you have something.”
Emma looked at her mother.
Rachel shook her head slightly.
Adrian saw it.
“Rachel,” he said, “whatever you are hiding is placing your daughter in danger.”
“She’s already in danger.”
“Then help me protect her.”
Rachel’s eyes filled with tears. “Your people couldn’t protect Daniel.”
The name struck Adrian with unexpected force.
Daniel Cross had been one of the estate’s most trusted security technicians. His disappearance had been investigated, but Adrian had been traveling during the final weeks of the inquiry. Owen had handled it. The conclusion had seemed clear.
Daniel had stolen access codes and fled.
“What does your husband have to do with Madison’s closet?” Adrian asked.
Before Rachel could answer, Emma lifted Mr. Snow.
“Daddy put a secret in him.”
Rachel stared at the rabbit.
“What secret?”
Emma turned the toy over. Along its back, beneath the repaired seam, was a line of uneven black stitches.
“I didn’t break his ear,” Emma said. “Daddy did. He said you would fix it and find the surprise.”
Rachel took the rabbit with shaking hands.
She tore open the seam.
Inside the stuffing was a thin silver memory card wrapped in plastic.
Owen returned from the staircase, breathing hard.
“The suspect escaped through a service shaft. We found a motorbike abandoned near the east gate.”
Adrian held out his hand.
Rachel hesitated, then gave him the card.
A gunshot cracked through the ballroom.
The chandelier above them exploded.
Glass rained onto the floor as guests screamed and dropped behind tables.
Adrian threw himself over Emma and Rachel. Owen drew his weapon. Security rushed toward the terrace.
In the confusion, a woman in a champagne server’s uniform slipped through the crowd. She moved directly toward the shattered rabbit lying on the floor.
Margaret saw her first.
“Adrian!”
The woman grabbed the toy and ran.
Emma screamed, “Mr. Snow!”
Adrian rose, but the thief had already reached the terrace. She climbed onto the stone balustrade and jumped into the darkness beyond.
Owen reached the edge seconds later.
Below, the gardens were lit by emergency lamps. No body lay on the lawn.
A rope descended from the terrace to the lower hedge.
“She had help,” Owen said.
Rachel looked at the torn rabbit in horror.
Adrian opened his hand.
The memory card was still in his palm.
The thief had taken only the toy.
Emma touched the empty seam.
“She took the wrong secret,” she whispered.
Adrian looked at her.
“There’s another one?”
May you like
Emma nodded.
“In his other ear.”
