Chapter 9 - The Missing Face
Victor took the photograph from Ethan.
The missing section had been removed carefully with a blade. Only part of the fourth man’s shoulder remained.
He wore a dark blue jacket with a silver pin.
Victor knew the pin.
It had been issued to members of the Hale Foundation’s original executive council. Only five had ever existed.
One belonged to Victor’s late father.
One belonged to Celeste.
One belonged to Conrad.
One belonged to Dr. Elias Wren, the director of Northbridge Behavioral Center.
The fifth belonged to Victor’s younger brother, Adrian Hale.
Adrian had vanished two years after Celeste’s death.
Victor had been told he left the country after stealing money from the foundation. There had been bank records, witness statements and a letter bearing Adrian’s signature.
Victor had never heard his brother’s voice again.
Ethan pointed at the missing face.
“He was in the nursery.”
“How do you know?” Victor asked.
“He has the silver fox.”
The Hale family crest included a silver fox beneath an oak tree.
Victor crouched.
“What did he say to you?”
Ethan looked toward Serena.
She stood beside Conrad and the detective.
“He said I shouldn’t open Mommy’s door.”
Serena laughed nervously.
“He’s confused.”
Ethan shook his head.
“He said Lily would go away if I talked.”
Victor’s eyes returned to the photograph.
Adrian had known every hidden passage in the mansion. They had explored the service tunnels as children. If he was alive, he could enter the estate without appearing on any camera.
But why would he help Serena?
Victor looked at Conrad.
“Where is my brother?”
Conrad’s expression did not change.
“I have no idea.”
“You represented the foundation during the investigation into his disappearance.”
“I represented you.”
“You produced the letter confessing his theft.”
“The police verified it.”
“Did they verify the signature?”
Conrad closed his document case.
“This conversation is irrelevant.”
“It becomes relevant when someone wearing Adrian’s foundation pin enters my son’s nursery.”
Serena stepped closer to Victor.
“You’re allowing Lily to turn you against everyone.”
Victor moved away from her.
“Do not touch me.”
For the first time, Serena’s composure broke completely.
“You cannot do this to me after everything I gave you.”
“What did you give me?”
“A family.”
“My son was already my family.”
Serena stared at him.
Then her voice softened.
“I loved Ethan.”
The child hid behind Lily.
That single movement answered her.
The detective separated Serena and Conrad for questioning. Victor ordered that neither be allowed to leave the estate.
Lily brought Ethan into the library.
He sat on the sofa with the old photograph while Victor searched Celeste’s files on the computer.
Most had been encrypted.
One folder opened without a password.
Inside was a scan of the original Hale Trust.
Victor read the protection clause slowly.
If the direct heir was removed from the trustee’s legal custody, temporary control would pass to the trustee’s lawful spouse.
But Celeste had added a handwritten amendment.
A spouse whose identity was obtained through fraud could not inherit authority.
Attached to the amendment was Serena’s old passport under the name Naomi Voss.
The document Lily had found in the red room was only a copy.
Celeste had saved the original scan years ago.
Victor sent the file to his independent attorney.
A second folder contained audio files.
Most were damaged.
One had been recorded on the night before Celeste’s crash.
Victor pressed play.
Celeste’s voice whispered through the speakers.
“Adrian knows Serena’s real identity. He says he can expose her. I told him to wait until Victor is safe.”
A door opened in the recording.
Celeste stopped speaking.
A man entered.
His voice was distorted, but his words were clear.
“You should not have trusted Adrian.”
Then came a metallic click.
Celeste asked, “What have you done to him?”
The man answered.
“What I’m about to do to you.”
The audio ended.
Victor stared at the screen.
May you like
Behind him, Ethan whispered to Lily.
“That’s the man who came into my room.”
