Chapter 4 - The Betrayal Upstairs
Adrian returned to his office that evening.
He removed the beard.
Changed clothes.
Walked into Whitmore House as himself.
The transformation was almost absurd.
The beggar disappeared.
The billionaire returned.
Employees immediately straightened.
Doors opened.
Voices became quieter.
Adrian hated it.
For years, he had enjoyed that reaction.
Now it made him uncomfortable.
He found Malcolm in the study.
“Tell me.”
Malcolm placed a file on the desk.
“The theft was coordinated by Nathan.”
“I expected that.”
“But he had help.”
“Who?”
Malcolm looked toward the door.
“Eleanor.”
Adrian froze.
His older sister.
The woman who had stopped speaking to him after their father's death.
The woman who had once accused him of stealing the family business.
He opened the file.
Emails.
Bank transfers.
Meeting records.
Eleanor had been communicating with Nathan for months.
They planned to remove Adrian from the company.
But there was more.
Eleanor had also been communicating with someone inside Whitmore House.
Adrian read the name.
Victor Haines.
The security guard.
His expression hardened.
Victor wasn't just rude to strangers.
He was part of the conspiracy.
Adrian remembered Victor shoving him.
Suddenly it made sense.
Victor had believed the beggar was worthless.
Because Nathan had trained him to think that way.
Adrian called him into the study.
Victor entered.
He froze when he saw Adrian.
“Mr. Whitmore.”
Adrian sat silently.
“You know who I am.”
“Yes, sir.”
“You also know I was at the gate yesterday.”
Victor swallowed.
“I didn't recognize you.”
“No.”
Adrian's voice was cold.
“You didn't recognize me because you only respect people who look powerful.”
Victor lowered his eyes.
“I made a mistake.”
“You made several.”
Adrian placed the financial records on the desk.
Victor's face changed.
“I can explain.”
“I don't want an explanation.”
Adrian pressed a button.
Security footage appeared on the screen.
Victor receiving envelopes.
Victor opening restricted gates.
Victor meeting Nathan's assistant.
Victor taking cash.
Everything.
Victor collapsed into a chair.
“Please.”
Adrian stared at him.
“Who else?”
Victor began crying.
“I don't know.”
“You do.”
“Eleanor.”
“And?”
Victor hesitated.
“Someone else.”
“Who?”
Victor looked terrified.
“Your chief financial officer.”
Adrian's blood ran cold.
Three of the people he trusted most were involved.
But there was one more problem.
Grace.
If Victor had been monitoring the property, he had likely been monitoring her too.
Adrian immediately went looking for her.
She wasn't in the kitchen.
Not the laundry room.
Not the greenhouse.
He found her room empty.
Her sister's medical paperwork was gone.
Her phone was on the bed.
Broken.
Adrian's heart stopped.
He called Malcolm.
“Find Grace.”
“We're trying.”
“Now.”
Twenty minutes later, a security officer found her scarf near the rear gate.
Adrian stared at it.
A terrible thought entered his mind.
Victor had threatened her.
Nathan had threatened her.
Her sister had been used as leverage.
And now she was gone.
Then Adrian's phone buzzed.
Unknown number.
A video appeared.
He opened it.
Grace was sitting in a dark room.
Her hands were tied.
A man's voice spoke off camera.
“If you want her alive, come alone.”
Adrian's face went cold.
The voice continued.
“And bring the Whitmore company files.”
The video ended.
Malcolm stared at him.
“You can't go.”
Adrian looked at the screen.
For years, people had feared Adrian Whitmore because he could destroy them financially.
Now he discovered what fear really felt like.
It wasn't losing money.
It was losing someone you couldn't replace.
He picked up his coat.
“I'll go.”
Malcolm grabbed his arm.
“Adrian—”
“I said I'll go.”
But neither man noticed the small red light blinking on Adrian's phone.
The kidnappers had made one mistake.
May you like
They had sent a video.
And Adrian had just given his investigators their first clue.
