Dominic looked at him.

“And?”

“We checked the security office.”

“What did you find?”

“Nothing.”

Dominic leaned back.

“So someone used my study.”

Marco nodded.

Neither man spoke.

Someone inside the house had helped the attacker.

Someone with access.

Someone who knew exactly how to erase the only evidence that might expose them.

Then Anna appeared in the doorway.

She looked exhausted.

“What happened?”

Dominic turned.

“The camera stopped recording.”

Anna's face went pale.

“During the attack?”

“Yes.”

She stared at the tablet.

Then something flickered across her expression.

“The flooding.”

Dominic frowned.

“What flooding?”

“An upstairs guest room. The sink overflowed. Emily told me about it during the party.”

“Emily who?”

“Emily Price. One of the newer maids.”

Marco's eyes narrowed.

“What time?”

“Just before Lily disappeared.”

Dominic stood.

“Where did you leave Lily?”

“Near the kitchen.”

“Who was there?”

Anna swallowed.

“I don't remember.”

She hated herself for that answer.

For six years, she had learned every corner of the Moretti estate. She knew which floorboards creaked. She knew which doors stuck in winter. She knew which staff members preferred coffee before sunrise and which ones stayed late.

But tonight she had made one mistake.

She had assumed Lily was safe because everyone around them was supposed to be safe.

Marco spoke into his radio.

“Locate Emily Price.”

A few seconds passed.

His expression changed.

“She isn't in her room.”

Dominic looked at him.

“Car?”

“Still in the employee lot.”

“Phone?”

“Off.”

Anna wrapped her robe tighter around herself.

“She wouldn't leave.”

Dominic looked at her.

“Someone made her.”

Marco disappeared with two guards.

Dominic remained in the hallway.

For the first time, Anna saw something beneath his control.

Fatigue.

Not physical exhaustion.

Something older.

Something that had been living inside him for years.

Six years earlier, Dominic's wife, Sophia, had died in a car accident.

Since then, Ethan had become the center of whatever remained of him.

Anna had worked in the estate throughout those years. She had watched Dominic become more protective, more suspicious, more distant.

She had also watched Ethan grow up inside a fortress.

A child surrounded by adults who were paid to protect him.

A child who still sometimes looked toward the door when thunder shook the windows.

A child who had once asked Anna why his father never laughed anymore.

She had never known what to tell him.

Now Dominic stared toward Lily's bedroom.

“Did she see his face?”

“I don't know.”

“We'll ask her tomorrow.”

“She is three.”

“I know.”

Anna stepped closer.

“I won't let anyone frighten her.”

Dominic met her eyes.

“Neither will I.”

His radio crackled.

Marco's voice came through.

“Boss.”

Dominic lifted it.

“What?”

“We found Emily.”

Anna's heart jumped.

“Where?”

“The old greenhouse.”

“Alive?”

A pause.

“Yes.”

Anna exhaled.

Then Marco added:

“Unconscious.”

Dominic was already moving.

Anna followed.

He stopped at the end of the corridor.

“You stay with Lily.”

“But—”

“That isn't a request.”

Anna stared at him.

Then he disappeared.

She returned to the bedroom and locked the door.

Lily slept peacefully beneath her blanket, one tiny fist curled beneath her chin.

Anna sat beside her.

She watched the child's chest rise and fall.

For three years, Anna's fears had been ordinary.

Fevers.

Falling down stairs.

Bad dreams.

Crossing streets.

Cars in parking lots.

Now her daughter had witnessed an attempted murder inside one of the most protected houses in New York.

And someone knew she had seen it.

At 4:07 a.m., Anna's phone lit up.

Unknown number.

She stared at it.

A message appeared.

Your daughter should have stayed in the ballroom.

Anna stopped breathing.

Another message followed.

Next time, there won't be a cake between us.

She dropped the phone.

For several seconds, she couldn't move.

Then Lily stirred.

“Mommy?”

Anna immediately picked her up.

“It's okay.”

Her voice shook.

Lily opened her eyes.

“Bad man?”

Anna froze.

“What bad man?”

“The one in the cold room.”

Anna's heart hammered.

“Lily, sweetheart, did you see his face?”

Lily nodded sleepily.

“Do you remember him?”

Another nod.

“What did he look like?”

Lily thought.

Then she whispered something that made Anna's blood turn cold.

“He had Daddy's watch.”

Anna stared at her.

“Whose watch?”

“Mr. Dominic's.”

A sound came from the hallway.

Three slow knocks.

Anna pulled Lily against her.

“Who is it?”

No answer.

Another knock.

Then Dominic's voice.

“Anna. It's me.”

She opened the door only after checking through the narrow glass panel.

Dominic stood alone.

His face was different.

“What happened?” she whispered.

“We found Emily.”

“I know.”

“She woke up.”

Anna's fingers tightened around Lily.

“What did she say?”

Dominic looked directly at the child.

“She said she was told to create the flooding.”

Anna felt sick.

“By whom?”

Dominic's eyes moved back to hers.

“She didn't see his face.”

“Then how—”

“She heard his voice.”

Silence.

“And?”

Dominic's expression became unreadable.

“She recognized it.”

Anna waited.

“Whose voice?”

Dominic looked down the corridor.

“Mine.”

Anna stared at him.

The words seemed to change the temperature of the room.

“No.”

“She said the man spoke like me.”

“That doesn't mean—”

“I know.”

Dominic stepped inside.

He looked at Lily.

“Did she really see my watch?”

Lily nodded.

Dominic closed his eyes briefly.

When he opened them again, the softness was gone.

“Someone has been using my identity to move through this house.”

Anna suddenly understood.

The person wasn't merely trying to kill Ethan.

They were building a trail that would eventually lead back to Dominic.

A murder committed with his access.

His security system.

His private study.

His voice.

His watch.

Someone wanted Ethan dead.

And wanted Dominic blamed.

Marco appeared behind him.

“We found the cold-room footage.”

Dominic turned.

“Thought you said it was erased.”

“It was.”

“Then what did you find?”

Marco held up a small drive.

“A backup.”

They gathered in the security room.

The footage was grainy.

The cold room appeared empty.

Then a figure entered.

Black clothing.

Cap pulled low.

The person moved directly toward the cake.

A silver container appeared.

A gloved finger touched the frosting.

Then the figure looked toward the camera.

The image froze.

Marco enlarged it.

The face remained hidden.

But the wrist was visible.

A black watch.

Dominic stared.

“That isn't mine.”

Anna looked at him.

“How do you know?”

Dominic removed his own watch.

The strap was dark brown leather.

The one on the screen was black metal.

Marco leaned toward the monitor.

“Then why did Lily think it was yours?”

Dominic said nothing.

Anna did.

“Because someone wanted her to.”

The realization settled over them.

The watch wasn't evidence.

It was bait.

Dominic looked at Marco.

“Search every employee who has had access to my study.”

“We already did.”

“Do it again.”

Marco hesitated.

Dominic's voice hardened.

“Everybody.”

Then Lily spoke from Anna's arms.

“Not everybody.”

Every adult turned.

The little girl pointed toward the monitor.

“That's him.”

Anna's breath caught.

“You remember?”

Lily nodded.

“He was by Mommy's door.”

Dominic leaned toward the screen.

“Which man?”

Lily touched the monitor.

“The tall one.”

Marco enlarged the frame.

The figure was taller than most staff.

Broad shoulders.

Dark coat.

A slight limp.

Dominic suddenly stopped breathing.