Chapter 13 - The Code
Rebecca sat on the study floor staring at the empty safe.
Daniel stood near the door.
“When did Victor know this code?”
“I don’t know.”
“Think.”
She pressed both hands against her forehead.
“It’s the same code I used at our old house.”
Daniel looked at her.
“Why?”
“I didn’t think.”
“Who knew it?”
“You.”
“I didn’t.”
Rebecca winced.
“My sister. Maybe Celia.”
“Victor?”
“No.”
Then she stopped.
“Wait.”
Daniel said nothing.
Rebecca looked horrified.
“Three years ago Victor came here when you were in Denver. A pipe burst upstairs.”
Daniel remembered.
Victor had coordinated repairs.
“I was at the hospital with Lily. She had pneumonia. I gave Victor the alarm code.”
“And the safe?”
“The alarm code was the same.”
Daniel closed his eyes.
Rebecca’s voice cracked.
“I never changed either.”
“So he didn’t need anyone to betray us this week.”
“No.”
“He carried access to our house for three years.”
“Yes.”
Daniel leaned against the desk.
For once, the truth made him less angry with Rebecca.
Not because the mistake was small.
Because it was ordinary.
Careless.
Human.
Not conspiracy.
The distinction mattered.
They reported the missing documents.
Forensics later found Victor’s fingerprint inside the safe.
By evening, prosecutors had enough for a search warrant on Victor’s home and office.
They found no ledger.
But they found something else.
A storage-unit receipt.
The unit was rented under an employee’s name.
Inside were boxes of company files, unused corporate seals, prepaid phones, and shredded accounting records.
There were also copies of Daniel’s signature.
Hundreds.
Practiced on tracing sheets.
Daniel stared at the photographs Ortiz showed him.
His brother had rehearsed becoming him.
“It’s enough for forgery,” Ortiz said.
“What about Lily?”
“We’re building that separately.”
“You have her statement.”
“She’s three.”
Daniel bristled.
Ortiz held up a hand.
“That doesn’t mean we ignore her. It means we corroborate.”
“With what?”
“The cage had Victor’s fingerprints.”
“So?”
“He’s family. His prints could have been there before.”
Daniel stared.
Ortiz continued.
“The padlock was new. Store records show a matching purchase three days ago.”
“Victor bought it?”
“Cash.”
“So no.”
“No.”
Daniel felt frustration rise.
“Celia may help.”
The nanny had disappeared after leaving the house the morning of the incident.
Her phone went straight to voicemail.
Police initially feared Victor had threatened her.
Then Celia called Daniel herself.
Her voice trembled.
“I need to tell you what happened.”
“Where are you?”
“I’m safe.”
“Why did you leave Lily?”
“Mrs. Hale told me she needed me to run an errand.”
“My mother?”
“Yes.”
“What errand?”
“She gave me an envelope and told me to take it to Hale Land’s bank.”
“What was inside?”
“I don’t know.”
“Why didn’t you come back?”
“I was supposed to.”
Celia began crying.
“But Mr. Victor called me.”
Daniel’s pulse quickened.
“What did he say?”
“He told me Mrs. Hale wanted me to take the rest of the day off.”
“Did you believe him?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because he knew about the envelope.”
Daniel paced.
“Celia, did you see Victor at the house?”
“Before I left.”
Daniel stopped.
“What was he doing?”
“Talking to Mrs. Hale in the study.”
Eleanor had lied again.
She had not merely called Victor afterward.
They had been together inside Daniel’s home.
“What did you hear?”
Celia went quiet.
Then she whispered, “Mr. Victor asked where the little blue book was.”
Daniel tightened his grip on the phone.
May you like
“And my mother?”
“She said, ‘If Rebecca has it, you make sure she never gets it to the police.’”
