Chapter 4
Daniel arrived at midnight. He was escorted to a windowless conference room beneath the west wing of the estate, a place built generations earlier for conversations that could not happen upstairs.
Mason stood at Adrian’s right. Vanessa sat against the wall, claiming she could not leave her fiancé during such a betrayal.
Noah placed the evidence on the table: sterilization records, security footage, and a microscopic analysis of the bacteria.
Daniel did not deny it.
Adrian stared at him. “Why?”
The doctor lowered his head.
“Answer him,” Mason snapped.
Daniel remained silent.
Vanessa touched Adrian’s shoulder. “He tried to murder you. What explanation could matter?”
Adrian opened a drawer and placed a gun on the table. Daniel closed his eyes.
Grace stood in the corridor above the stairs, holding Lily. An older housekeeper had warned her that something terrible was happening below. She had come because Daniel had always been kind to Lily.
The stone door was not fully closed. Lily saw the gun. Before Grace could stop her, the child slipped from her arms and ran into the room.
“Lily!”
Every man turned. She planted herself between Adrian and the doctor. Mason reached for her, but Adrian lifted one hand.
“Don’t.”
Lily studied Daniel. Then she looked at Adrian. “The doctor smells sad.”
Vanessa’s face tightened. “Get the child out of here.”
Lily shook her head. “He’s scared like Mama was when I got lost at the park. He isn’t scared because he did something bad. He’s scared because he lost somebody.”
Adrian looked at Daniel again. For the first time, he noticed the dark circles beneath the doctor’s eyes and the tremor in his hands. He put the gun away.
“Everyone leave.”
Mason stepped closer. “Adrian—”
“Everyone.”
May you like
Vanessa rose slowly. As she passed Grace, the floral cloud of her perfume filled the doorway. Lily pressed her face against Grace’s shoulder.
“The knife smell,” she whispered.
