CHAPTER 2 The Camera Never Blinked
The tiny green light vanished so quickly that Evelyn almost convinced herself she had imagined it.
Almost.
But Arthur hadn't.
The elderly waiter kept staring toward the chandelier, his breathing suddenly uneven.
"I've seen that before," he whispered.
Officer Ryan followed Arthur's gaze.
"What are we looking at?"
Arthur slowly raised one trembling finger.
"Above the dance floor."
"The crystal chandelier."
"There was a camera."
The officer narrowed his eyes.
The chandelier hung nearly forty feet above the ballroom floor, its thousands of imported crystals reflecting the flashing police lights outside.
From where they stood, nothing looked unusual.
No camera.
No blinking light.
Just glass and gold.
Preston chuckled.
"A hidden camera inside a chandelier?"
He spread his arms theatrically.
"This is becoming ridiculous."
A few nervous guests laughed.
Most didn't.
Because something about Preston's confidence had changed.
He wasn't relieved.
He was calculating.
Watching.
Waiting.
Evelyn had known her brother for thirty-four years.
She recognized that look.
It was the expression he wore whenever something unexpected threatened one of his carefully crafted lies.
Officer Ryan spoke into his radio.
"I need hotel security in the ballroom. Immediately."
A young hotel manager hurried forward before anyone answered.
"We're already here."
"My name is Nathan Collins."
"I'm the operations manager."
Ryan turned toward him.
"Does this ballroom contain any recording equipment besides the security cameras?"
Nathan hesitated.
Then nodded.
"Officially..."
"...no."
The pause caught Evelyn's attention.
"What do you mean officially?"
Nathan looked around the room, suddenly aware that two hundred pairs of eyes were fixed on him.
"The Grand Wellington occasionally installs temporary overhead cameras during celebrity weddings."
"Insurance purposes."
"They aren't always disclosed to guests."
Vanessa, the bride, frowned.
"You never told us."
Nathan swallowed.
"They're only activated if the client purchases the premium security package."
Preston answered before anyone else could.
"We didn't."
Nathan blinked.
"Actually..."
He opened the wedding contract on his tablet.
His expression slowly changed.
"According to our records..."
"...someone upgraded your package three days ago."
The room fell silent.
Preston stared at the screen.
"I never approved that."
Nathan frowned.
"The payment cleared."
"It was thirty thousand dollars."
Vanessa grabbed the tablet.
"What?"
She scrolled through the invoice.
There it was.
Premium Event Surveillance Package.
Paid in full.
Three days before the wedding.
Using Preston's corporate account.
Vanessa looked at him.
"You told me we couldn't afford upgraded flowers."
"But somehow you spent thirty thousand dollars on cameras?"
"I didn't."
His answer came too quickly.
"I never authorized this."
Officer Ryan folded his arms.
"Then someone used your account."
Preston's jaw tightened.
Nathan spoke carefully.
"The surveillance footage should already be stored in our security office."
Ryan nodded.
"Let's retrieve it."
For the first time all afternoon...
Preston stepped forward.
"I don't think that's necessary."
Every instinct Evelyn possessed screamed.
There it is.
Fear.
Not anger.
Fear.
Ryan noticed it too.
"Sir."
"Unless you have a legal objection..."
"...we're going."
Preston forced another smile.
"Of course."
"I'm simply concerned about guest privacy."
Ryan didn't answer.
Instead, he motioned for another officer.
"You."
"Stay with Mr. Preston."
The officer nodded.
Preston's smile disappeared again.
Ten minutes later...
The security office occupied a quiet corner on the hotel's lower level.
Unlike the glamorous ballroom upstairs, this room smelled of coffee and overheated electronics.
Rows of monitors displayed nearly every hallway, entrance, elevator, and banquet room in the hotel.
A security technician named Melissa was already typing furiously.
Nathan handed her the event number.
"Wedding."
"Ballroom A."
"Premium Surveillance."
Melissa frowned.
"That's strange."
"What?"
"The files are missing."
Officer Ryan leaned over her shoulder.
"What do you mean missing?"
"They should be here."
She searched again.
Nothing.
The surveillance folder existed.
Inside it...
Empty.
Every recording slot showed exactly the same message.
NO DATA AVAILABLE
Ryan looked at Nathan.
"When was the last backup?"
"Every camera uploads automatically every five minutes."
Melissa interrupted.
"It should be impossible to lose everything."
Unless...
She stopped talking.
Ryan noticed.
"Unless what?"
Melissa slowly turned toward him.
"Unless someone with administrator access manually deleted the files."
Nathan shook his head immediately.
"Only three people have that level of access."
"Who?"
"Myself."
"Our IT director."
"And..."
He hesitated.
"The wedding client."
Everyone turned.
"The client?"
Nathan nodded.
"Our premium package allows clients to monitor their own event through a secure application."
Ryan looked at Preston.
"So he had access."
Nathan nodded again.
"Yes."
Preston laughed.
"This is absurd."
"I've been upstairs all afternoon."
Melissa quietly asked,
"Where's your phone?"
Silence.
Everyone remembered.
The same phone that had supposedly been stolen by Sophie.
The same phone that had magically appeared inside her jacket.
Ryan looked directly at Preston.
"The phone you claimed was stolen..."
"...was also capable of deleting the surveillance files."
Preston's eyes narrowed.
"You're accusing me?"
"I'm observing facts."
Vanessa suddenly spoke.
"...Preston."
He turned.
Her face had become pale.
"Can I see your phone?"
"What?"
"Your phone."
"You said Sophie stole it."
"You got it back."
"So..."
"Where is it?"
Preston reached into his pocket.
Nothing.
He checked another pocket.
Then another.
His expression froze.
"It..."
"It was here."
Vanessa stared at him.
"You lost it?"
"No."
"I..."
He stopped.
Because he genuinely couldn't find it.
Officer Ryan's voice became very calm.
"Interesting."
"The only device capable of erasing the hotel's surveillance footage..."
"...has disappeared."
Back upstairs...
Evelyn sat beside Sophie inside a private medical room.
The paramedics had cleaned the wound.
Seven stitches.
A mild concussion.
Observation overnight.
Sophie clung to her mother's hand.
"Mom..."
"Are Uncle Preston going to jail?"
Evelyn didn't answer immediately.
She kissed Sophie's forehead instead.
"I don't know."
"But I promise you something."
"What?"
"I won't let anyone hurt you again."
Sophie nodded sleepily.
Then closed her eyes.
A soft knock interrupted the silence.
Arthur entered.
He closed the door behind him.
His face looked older than it had an hour earlier.
"I remembered something."
Evelyn looked up.
"What?"
Arthur reached into his pocket.
This time...
He removed a folded napkin.
Not ordinary.
Heavy linen.
The hotel's logo embroidered in gold.
"There was a young man."
"He bumped into me."
"Right after your brother accused Sophie."
"So?"
"He apologized."
"I thought nothing of it."
Arthur unfolded the napkin.
Inside lay a tiny silver object.
No larger than a fingernail.
Evelyn frowned.
"What is that?"
Arthur handed it to her.
She recognized it instantly.
A microSD memory card.
Arthur smiled faintly.
"The body camera uses full-size SD cards."
"This..."
"...doesn't belong to mine."
Evelyn stared at the tiny card.
"Then where did it come from?"
Arthur's eyes drifted toward the ceiling.
"The hidden camera."
"I think..."
"...someone removed its memory card."
"And somehow..."
"...it ended up in my pocket."
A chill ran through Evelyn's body.
Someone had switched the evidence.
Not destroyed it.
Moved it.
Hidden it.
But why?
Before either of them could speak again...
Someone tried the doorknob.
Once.
Twice.
Then violently.
The locked door rattled.
A man's voice echoed from the hallway.
"Open the door."
"I know you're in there."
Arthur's face turned white.
He recognized the voice immediately.
It wasn't Preston.
It wasn't a police officer.
It was someone far more dangerous.
The hotel's IT director.
And in his hand...
Through the narrow glass window...
May you like
Evelyn saw the unmistakable outline of a handgun.
End of Chapter 2
