Chapter 3
One night, Grace sat on Lily’s bed and brushed her curls.
“You need to spend less time with Mr. Vale.”
“Why?”
“Because he is busy.”
“He likes when I visit.”
“I know.”
“Do you like him?”
Grace’s hand stopped. “He is our employer.”
“That isn’t what I asked.”
Grace stared at her daughter. Sometimes talking to Lily felt like being questioned by a very small detective.
Before Grace could answer, Lily lowered her voice. “Miss Vanessa smells sharp.”
Grace’s pulse quickened. “What do you mean?”
“Her perfume is flowers. But under it, she smells like the kitchen knife.”
The brush slipped from Grace’s fingers.
Adrian Vale did not believe in coincidences. A bullet striking him on a route known only to his closest people was not a coincidence. A rare infection appearing after a successful surgery was not a coincidence. And Lily describing Vanessa’s perfume as sharp only days after detecting the infection was not something he intended to ignore.
He called Noah Blake, the head of his personal security unit. Noah had known Adrian since childhood. Unlike Mason, he operated outside the organization’s normal chain of command and answered to Adrian alone.
“I want every second of the surgery investigated,” Adrian said. “Every camera, every tray, every person who entered the operating room.”
Noah studied him. “You suspect the infection was deliberate.”
“I suspect someone was disappointed when I survived the ambush.”
Three days later, Noah returned with a file. “The instruments were contaminated intentionally.”
Adrian’s expression did not change. “Who?”
“Dr. Daniel Mercer.”
May you like
The name struck harder than the bullet had. Daniel had served as Adrian’s personal physician for fifteen years. He had treated the household staff without charge, delivered babies, and once spent an entire winter caring for Adrian’s dying uncle.
“Bring him here,” Adrian said.
