Chapter 9 - THEY ARRESTED AN INNOCENT WOMAN TO SILENCE ME"Don't let them take her away, Nathan. She hasn't done anything!"
Eli's voice came through the telephone behind Grace's frightened breathing.
I had already left the boardroom.
I didn't say goodbye to Victor.
I didn't even look back.
I ran toward the elevator.
"Grace, listen to me," I said. "Don't answer questions about the necklace until you've spoken with a lawyer."
"Nathan, I didn't steal anything."
"I know."
There was a pause.
"You believe me?"
"Yes."
Her breath caught.
Then I heard another voice.
"Ma'am, we need you to put the phone away."
The call ended.
I drove toward the estate, my hands gripping the steering wheel so tightly that my knuckles hurt.
During the drive, I called Marisol.
She listened and immediately recommended an independent criminal defense attorney.
"Grace needs someone representing her interests, not yours or the company's," she explained.
"Get whoever she needs."
"Nathan, don't try to pay your way around this. Evidence matters."
"Then help me find it."
By the time I reached the house, two patrol cars were parked in the driveway.
Grace stood beside one of them, her hands cuffed behind her back.
Her face was pale.
Her shoulders were rigid.
Vivian stood on the porch in an expensive black dress, speaking animatedly to an officer.
She looked almost pleased.
I stopped my car and hurried toward them.
"What's going on?"
One deputy turned.
"Mr. Reed?"
"Yes."
"We're investigating a reported theft."
I looked at Grace.
She was trying not to cry.
"What happened?"
Vivian approached.
"My diamond necklace is missing, Nathan."
I turned toward her.
"Where was it last?"
"In my bedroom."
"And how did it end up in Grace's handbag?"
Vivian lifted her chin.
"That's what I'd like to know."
One deputy explained that Vivian had reported a necklace valued at approximately twenty-eight thousand dollars missing from her guest room.
Grace had agreed to a search of her handbag because she believed it would clear her name.
Instead, the officers found the necklace wrapped in a small velvet pouch.
Grace looked at me.
"I didn't know it was there."
"I believe you."
Vivian rolled her eyes.
"Oh, please."
I turned toward her.
"Say one more insulting word about her."
Vivian stared at me.
"Are you threatening me?"
"No. I'm telling you this isn't a game."
The deputy stepped between us.
"Sir, we need everyone to remain calm."
I took a breath.
"Understood."
I turned back to Grace.
"Marisol is arranging a lawyer. We'll get this sorted out."
Grace's eyes filled.
"I didn't think something like this could happen so easily."
Neither had I.
That was another privilege I had never thought seriously about.
If someone accused me of stealing jewelry, half the people in the room would assume it was a misunderstanding.
If someone accused Grace, people searched her bag.
I watched helplessly as the deputy guided her into the patrol car.
Before the door closed, she looked at me.
"Please don't forget Leah."
"I won't."
Then the car drove away.
Vivian approached slowly.
"I'm sorry it came to this."
I turned.
"Are you?"
She frowned.
"Of course."
"Then why are you smiling?"
Her expression changed.
"I'm not smiling."
"You were."
"Nathan, I'm the victim here."
I looked at her.
"That's what you want everyone to believe."
She stepped back.
"You should be careful. You're starting to sound irrational."
I walked past her.
"Pack your things, Vivian."
She called after me.
"You can't throw me out!"
I stopped.
"This is my home. And your invitation has ended."
For several seconds, she remained silent.
Then she said, "My father won't like this."
I turned around.
"Tell him I don't care."
I found Eli waiting near the staff cottage.
He was furious.
"I know she planted it."
"Did you see her?"
"No. But I saw her near Grace's room earlier."
"When?"
"About two hours before the police arrived."
"Why didn't you say something?"
"I didn't know what she was doing."
He rubbed his forehead.
"Wait."
"What?"
"I installed a camera on the cottage porch last month."
I looked at him.
"Why?"
"Packages kept disappearing. It's a motion-activated camera with its own memory card. Doesn't connect to the main security system."
My pulse quickened.
"Does it face Grace's entrance?"
"Partly."
"Get the footage."
We hurried into the cottage.
Eli removed the camera's memory card and inserted it into his laptop.
The first videos showed routine activity.
Grace leaving for work.
Eli carrying gardening equipment.
A delivery driver approaching the porch.
Then, at 2:47 p.m., Vivian appeared.
She looked around before approaching Grace's room.
She was carrying a small black handbag.
Eli leaned forward.
"There."
Vivian knocked.
No answer.
She tried the handle.
Unlocked.
Grace had left the door open while helping Leah arrange transportation.
Vivian slipped inside.
I stared at the screen.
"Keep watching."
Three minutes passed.
Vivian emerged.
This time, she wasn't carrying the black handbag.
Instead, she held a folded piece of paper.
Eli rewound the footage.
"Look at her hand."
I leaned closer.
As Vivian entered the room, something dark was visible between her fingers.
A velvet pouch.
The same kind of pouch the police had found.
I felt anger rise through my chest.
"Save everything."
Eli nodded.
I called Marisol.
"We have footage showing Vivian entering Grace's room shortly before the necklace was discovered."
"Preserve the original recording," she said. "Don't edit it, and don't post it online. Grace's attorney can provide it to the investigators."
I was about to reply when Eli touched my arm.
"Mr. Reed."
"What?"
"There's another video."
He clicked the next file.
It showed Vivian walking toward the cottage again.
This time, she stopped near the magnolia trees.
Someone emerged from the shadows.
A man wearing a dark coat.
Broad shoulders.
Short hair.
A distinctive scar beneath his chin.
I froze.
Garrick Shaw.
He spoke to Vivian briefly.
Then he handed her something.
She nodded.
They separated.
Vivian returned toward the house while Shaw walked around the rear of the cottage.
Eli looked at me.
"Why would Victor Cross's security man be here?"
I couldn't answer.
Then the camera captured something even more disturbing.
Shaw stopped outside Grace's bedroom window.
He looked through the glass.
And for several seconds, he appeared to be studying the room.
I felt cold all over.
The necklace wasn't the only thing they had planted.
Someone had been searching Grace's living space.
Eli enlarged the final frame.
Shaw held a photograph in one hand.
A photograph of a woman.
The image was blurry, but the face was familiar.
Grace.
He turned the picture over before putting it into his pocket.
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On the back, written in thick black letters, were four words.
"NEXT, WE TAKE HER."
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