Chapter 9: Missing pieces
688 Words
Chapter 9: Missing Pieces
The office was empty except for the sound of rain striking the floor-to-ceiling windows.
Adrian Blackwood sat motionless behind his desk.
The hospital record lay open in front of him.
Mother: Serena Hart.
Child: Female.
Date of birth: Six years ago.
Father: UNKNOWN.
The word seemed to mock him.
Unknown.
It wasn't simply suspicious.
It was impossible.
Hospitals didn't leave blanks like that. Not in sealed records. Not after legal registration.
Especially not when someone had clearly gone through the trouble of restricting access.
His fingers tapped slowly against the desk.
Victor remained standing nearby.
Waiting.
Watching.
The two men had worked together for years.
Victor knew that silence.
It meant Adrian was thinking.
And when Adrian thought too long, somebody usually ended up regretting it.
Finally, Adrian spoke.
"Tell me exactly how you got this."
Victor crossed the room.
"The original archive was sealed."
"I know that."
"We couldn't access it directly."
"So who did?"
Victor hesitated.
That immediately caught Adrian's attention.
"You left something out."
Victor sighed.
"A former employee contacted me."
Adrian's eyes narrowed.
"Why?"
"He said somebody paid him to alter records years ago."
The room became still.
"How much?"
"A lot."
"Enough to disappear?"
Victor nodded.
"Apparently."
Adrian looked back at the file.
The pieces were beginning to move.
Not enough to see the full picture.
But enough to know there was one.
Somebody had manipulated official records.
Somebody with influence.
Somebody willing to spend serious money.
For one reason.
To hide a father.
The question was why.
And more importantly—
Who?
Across town, Serena Hart was having a very different evening.
Lily sat at the kitchen table coloring a picture of a dragon.
At least Serena thought it was a dragon.
It looked suspiciously like a purple potato with wings.
"Mom."
"Hmm?"
"Do dragons exist?"
Serena smiled while washing dishes.
"Not anymore."
Lily gasped dramatically.
"They used to?"
"Obviously."
The six-year-old considered this carefully.
"Did dinosaurs eat them?"
"Only the rude dragons."
Lily nodded as if that made perfect sense.
Serena couldn't help laughing.
Moments like these were her favorite.
Simple.
Safe.
Normal.
The life she had fought to create.
A life far away from powerful families.
Far away from secrets.
Far away from Adrian Blackwood.
Unfortunately, Adrian seemed determined to become part of her life again.
The thought made her uneasy.
She barely understood the effect he had on her.
The attraction was bad enough.
The curiosity was worse.
Because every time she looked at him, she felt like she was standing too close to a fire.
One she should avoid.
One she secretly wanted to touch.
The doorbell rang.
Her smile vanished.
Nobody visited unexpectedly.
Not anymore.
Old instincts immediately returned.
Protect Lily first.
Ask questions later.
She moved toward the door.
Carefully.
Quietly.
Peeking through the security camera.
A delivery driver.
Relief flooded her.
After signing for the package, she returned inside.
But the uncomfortable feeling remained.
As if someone were watching.
Waiting.
Planning.
Near midnight, Adrian finally left the office.
The city streets glistened beneath the rain.
His driver opened the car door.
Adrian slid inside.
His thoughts remained fixed on Serena.
And the child.
A six-year-old girl.
He didn't know why the information bothered him so much.
Maybe because nothing about Serena fit the story.
She didn't act like somebody hiding a scandal.
She acted like somebody protecting herself.
There was a difference.
A very important difference.
His phone buzzed.
Victor.
"What now?"
"I found something."
Adrian immediately sat forward.
"Talk."
"The records officer."
"The one who altered the file?"
"Yes."
"What about him?"
Victor paused.
"He's dead."
The words hit like ice water.
Adrian's jaw tightened.
"How?"
"Officially?"
"Victor."
"A car accident."
Silence.
Then Adrian asked the question both of them were thinking.
"And unofficially?"
Victor's answer came quietly.
"It looks like murder."
Adrian stared out the rain-covered window.
The game had just changed.
Because people didn't kill to protect small secrets.
They killed to protect dangerous ones.
And suddenly he had the feeling that Serena Hart was standing at the center of something much larger than either of them understood.
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