Chapter 23 - a house full of cameras
Nora contacted the bank, but the night manager refused to confirm whether anyone had entered the vault.
Grace reminded him that Nora was the registered owner of Box Nineteen.
“The box was accessed twenty-four minutes ago,” he admitted. “The visitor presented a court authorization.”
“No court was open tonight,” Grace said.
The manager checked the document again.
“It bears Judge Holloway’s electronic signature.”
Grace knew the judge. Holloway had played golf with Gideon Price for thirty years.
When Nora returned to the bank, the ledger remained in the box, but the cassette recorder was gone.
The envelope from her father had been opened and photographed. Whoever entered had replaced everything carefully, believing Nora would not discover the intrusion.
They had overlooked the camera Nora placed inside the ledger’s spine before leaving.
The footage showed Simon Ward, Vale Meridian’s chief financial officer.
Simon had worked for the family for twenty-three years. He had attended Katherine’s funeral, Nora’s wedding anniversary dinners and Maya’s graduation.
Nora called him from the vault.
“Did Malcolm send you?”
Simon remained silent.
“Or was it Gideon?”
“I cannot discuss this.”
“You entered my private vault using a fraudulent order.”
“I had no choice.”
“Everyone has a choice.”
“Not when someone knows where your daughter is.”
Nora felt her anger become cold and focused.
Simon’s daughter, Leah, had struggled with debt after her medical technology company collapsed. She had recently moved to Montreal—or that was what the family had been told.
“Is Leah in danger?” Nora asked.
Simon began to cry quietly.
“They took her passport. They moved her to an apartment owned by one of Gideon’s companies. He said she would be charged with fraud unless I followed instructions.”
“Where is the cassette?”
“I gave it to Malcolm.”
“Did he listen to it?”
“No. Gideon told him to bring it unopened to the Harbor Seven warehouse tomorrow night.”
Nora looked at Owen.
Her son had spent the past year working beneath Simon in corporate finance.
“Did you know about this?” she asked.
Owen shook his head, but his eyes moved toward the camera.
May you like
Nora recognized the gesture from his childhood.
He was not telling her everything.
