Chapter 3 - The Missing Forty-Seven Seconds
Camille Boudreaux woke in darkness.
Her first thought was Adeline.
Not where she was.
Not why her head hurt.
Not why her wrists were bound loosely in front of her.
Adeline.
She forced herself upright.
“Addie?”
Nothing.
Then memory returned.
Sofia in the service corridor.
“Camille, Vincent asked me to bring you downstairs.”
The envelope.
The parking area.
The strange smell inside the car.
Then nothing.
Camille pulled against the plastic tie around her wrists.
“Hello?”
A light switched on.
She was inside a storage room.
Concrete floor.
Metal shelves.
Old boating equipment.
A window too high to reach.
A man stood outside the half-open door.
Camille recognized him.
Peter Vance.
One of Raymond Castellano's longtime drivers.
“Peter?”
He looked uncomfortable.
“Don't make this harder.”
“Where's my daughter?”
“She wasn't part of this.”
“Where is she?”
“At the estate.”
Camille's fear sharpened into anger.
“If anyone touches my child—”
“Nobody's touching her.”
“Then let me go.”
“I can't.”
“Why?”
Peter looked away.
Camille stared at him.
“Sofia?”
He said nothing.
“Did Sofia do this?”
“Stop asking questions.”
Meanwhile, at St. Catherine's, Sofia Castellano returned to the waiting room carrying coffee.
Marcus was waiting.
“Where were you?”
She looked surprised.
“Getting coffee.”
“You left the hospital.”
“The café downstairs is terrible.”
“Where did you go?”
Sofia's eyes narrowed.
“Excuse me?”
Anthony stepped forward.
“Marcus.”
“No. She answers.”
Sofia placed the coffee on the table.
“I drove around.”
“Why?”
“Because my brother nearly died.”
“Did you drive around this afternoon too?”
Her expression changed.
Barely.
Marcus saw it.
“Did you leave the estate at 2:14?”
“Yes.”
“Was Camille Boudreaux in your car?”
Anthony turned toward his sister.
“What?”
Sofia remained silent.
Marcus stepped closer.
“Was Camille in your car?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“She asked me for a ride.”
“To where?”
“Town.”
“With an envelope?”
Sofia's face lost color.
Anthony whispered, “Sofia?”
She looked toward Vincent's room.
“Not here.”
Marcus laughed once.
“That's not your decision.”
Sofia lowered her voice.
“I didn't hurt Vincent.”
“Then start talking.”
She sat.
“The envelope wasn't mine.”
“Whose?”
“Vincent's.”
Marcus stared at her.
“Camille took it from his office?”
“No.”
“Then how did she get it?”
“I gave it to her.”
The room went silent.
Sofia rubbed her forehead.
“Three days ago, I received a message telling me there was proof someone inside the family had been stealing from Vincent.”
“Who sent it?”
“I don't know.”
“Why didn't you tell us?”
“Because the message said security was compromised.”
Marcus's jaw tightened.
“And you believed that?”
“It included internal transaction numbers nobody outside the family should know.”
“What did the message tell you to do?”
“Put an envelope on Vincent's desk at 2:10 today.”
Marcus stared at her.
“You planted it.”
“Yes.”
“What was inside?”
“Copies of financial records.”
“Then why did Camille leave with it?”
Sofia looked confused.
“She wasn't supposed to.”
Marcus leaned forward.
“What happened after you put it down?”
“I left the office. Camille was in the corridor. She said somebody told her Vincent wanted coffee. I told her he was busy.”
“And?”
“I went downstairs. A few minutes later Camille came running toward me carrying the envelope.”
“What did she say?”
Sofia swallowed.
“She said someone was inside Vincent's office.”
Marcus felt every muscle in his body tighten.
“She saw the attacker?”
“I don't know. She was terrified.”
“Why didn't you call security?”
“She begged me not to.”
“Why?”
“She said whoever was inside had a security badge.”
Marcus stopped.
That explained the missing footage.
“What happened next?”
“I told her we'd go to the security building together.”
“But you drove through Gate One.”
“I received a text.”
“From whom?”
“I don't know.”
“What did it say?”
Sofia's voice trembled.
“It said, ‘If you want the child to live, keep driving.’”
Anthony swore.
Marcus said, “Show me.”
“I deleted it.”
“Why?”
“Because the next message said they were watching.”
Marcus stared at her.
“You let them take Camille.”
“No.”
“What happened?”
“She became dizzy in the car. I thought she was having a panic attack. Then a black SUV blocked the road near Cypress Landing.”
Sofia's voice cracked.
“Two men came out. One opened my passenger door and pulled Camille out.”
“And you did nothing?”
“One showed me a photograph.”
“Of what?”
“Adeline playing beside the pond that morning.”
Marcus went still.
“They had been watching the child.”
Sofia nodded.
“I thought if I fought them, they would hurt her.”
“Why didn't you tell us afterward?”
“They called again. They said Camille was alive and would remain alive if I stayed quiet.”
Anthony stared at his sister.
“And you believed them?”
“I was trying to keep that little girl alive!”
Marcus turned away.
Everything was worse now.
Someone knew the estate's systems.
Someone knew the family's routines.
Someone knew Camille's movements.
And someone had photographed Adeline from inside a supposedly secure property.
His phone rang.
The security team.
“We traced the forty-seven-second deletion.”
“To whose credentials?”
Silence.
“Tell me.”
“Yours, sir.”
Marcus closed his eyes.
His own administrator account had erased the footage.
Someone wasn't simply inside the Castellano organization.
Someone was framing him.
At the same moment, Dr. Morales appeared in Vincent's doorway.
“He's asking for Marcus.”
Marcus entered.
Vincent watched his face.
“You found something.”
Marcus shut the door.
“Sofia planted the envelope.”
Vincent's eyes hardened.
“Why?”
Marcus explained.
When he finished, Vincent remained silent for several seconds.
Then he said, “Raymond.”
Marcus looked at him.
“Your uncle?”
“Maybe.”
“Why?”
“Three weeks ago I started auditing the family companies.”
“And?”
“Money is missing.”
“How much?”
“Twenty-eight million.”
Marcus stared.
“Who knew?”
“Me. Accountant. Raymond.”
“Anthony?”
“No.”
“Sofia?”
“No.”
Marcus sat.
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“I wanted proof first.”
“And now somebody tried to kill you.”
“Yes.”
Marcus lowered his voice.
“There's something else.”
“What?”
“My credentials erased the camera footage.”
Vincent looked at him.
“You didn't do it.”
“No.”
“I know.”
Marcus gave a humorless smile.
“Glad somebody does.”
Vincent shifted painfully.
“Where's Addie?”
“Estate.”
“Move her.”
“Already arranging it.”
“Where?”
“Somewhere nobody in the family knows.”
Vincent shook his head.
“No.”
“What?”
“Bring her here.”
“To a hospital?”
“Secure floor. Cameras. Police downstairs. Your men upstairs.”
Marcus understood.
The estate had become dangerous.
The hospital might actually be safer.
“Camille?”
“Still missing.”
Vincent looked toward the darkening window.
“Find Raymond.”
Marcus called immediately.
No answer.
Security searched the estate.
Raymond's room was empty.
His car remained in the garage.
His phone was on the nightstand.
But Raymond Castellano was gone.
Then one of the guards discovered something beneath his bed.
A pair of disposable gloves.
A security access card.
And a small electronic device capable of cloning employee credentials.
The card belonged to Marcus Ellery.
Anthony stared at the evidence.
“So Raymond attacked Vincent?”
Marcus shook his head.
“Too easy.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means somebody wanted us to find this.”
“Who?”
Marcus didn't answer.
His phone buzzed.
Unknown number.
A photograph appeared.
Camille sat on a concrete floor.
Alive.
Terrified.
Beneath it was a message.
BRING VINCENT'S FINANCIAL LEDGER TO CYPRESS LANDING AT MIDNIGHT.
COME ALONE.
OR THE CHILD LOSES HER MOTHER.
Marcus read it twice.
Then another message appeared.
WE KNOW THE TODDLER SAW MORE THAN YOU THINK.
Marcus looked up.
This wasn't only about money anymore.
Someone believed Adeline had witnessed something important.
May you like
And if they were right, the smallest person in the Castellano household had just become the most dangerous witness in Louisiana.
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