Chapter 6 - The Door Beatrice Never Opened
The following morning, Leo’s lunch bag disappeared.
It should have been meaningless.
Instead, it changed everything.
Beatrice searched the kitchen, playroom and service hall.
Near the emergency-access cabinet she heard voices.
Victor was speaking to another guard.
When Beatrice approached, they stopped.
“Looking for something?” Victor asked.
“Leo’s lunch.”
Victor smiled.
“Probably upstairs.”
But Beatrice saw something behind him.
The cabinet was open.
Again.
Victor stepped sideways, blocking her view.
That afternoon the lunch bag appeared on Leo’s bed.
Beatrice knew she had checked there twice.
She told Dominic.
He listened but offered the simplest explanation.
“A staff member found it.”
“Then why didn’t anyone tell me?”
“I’ll ask.”
But he was distracted.
His organization was facing pressure from a rival faction.
Threats had increased.
Dominic’s attention was divided.
Victor knew it.
And that evening, Victor entered the security room and disabled a warning protocol for exactly forty-three seconds.
Long enough to create a vulnerability.
Long enough to test whether anyone noticed.
Nobody did.
Except a nanny who happened to walk past the service corridor and hear the cabinet click shut.
Beatrice stopped.
Victor emerged.
Their eyes met.
For one second his friendly expression disappeared.
Then it returned.
“Evening, Miss Gallagher.”
Beatrice smiled.
“Evening.”
May you like
She kept walking.
Only after turning the corner did she begin to run.
