Chapter 12 - A Whispered Name in the Dark
I met Marcus in a secluded parking garage downtown twenty minutes later. His eyes turned dark as he inspected the photograph of Olivia.
"Victor Sterling doesn't make empty threats, Gabriel," Marcus said grimly, leaning against his unmarked cruiser. "He’s been under federal investigation for a decade, but he’s ghosted every wiretap and raid. If he knows about the subterranean vault beneath Grandview Tower, it means someone inside your mother’s old circle is leaking information."
"The vault was sealed thirty years ago by my biological mother," I said. "Only two keys exist. I have one. The other was buried with Elena."
"Or so you thought," Marcus replied, pulling a court document from his coat. "We did a deep audit of Carmen’s prison visitor logs yesterday. She’s had one visitor every week since her conviction. A woman who signs her name as 'Evelyn Miller.'"
My stomach dropped. "Evelyn? Olivia’s new private tutor?"
Jessica and I had hired Evelyn two months ago to help Olivia catch up on her schoolwork after the trauma. She was sweet, soft-spoken, and remarkably good with children. She had keys to our home. She was in our living room with my daughter right now.
"Get on the phone," Marcus barked, pulling his weapon from its holster and slamming the car door. "We’re going back to the penthouse now!"
I dialed Jessica’s cell frantically. It rang four times before going straight to voicemail. I called the home landline—nothing.
Driven by pure adrenaline, I slammed my foot onto the accelerator of my SUV, burning rubber out of the parking garage toward Grandview Tower. When we reached the penthouse floor, the front door was standing wide open.
Inside, the lights were off. The living room had been tossed—drawers pulled open, cushions ripped, books scattered across the marble floor.
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"Jessica!" I screamed, rushing down the hallway. "Olivia!"
From the dark nursery at the end of the hall came a faint, muffled sob.
