Chapter 2 - Eight Minutes MissingThe Message Beneath The TreeThe timer reached thirty seconds.
Clara heard it first.
Not because the sound was loud.
Because it was wrong.
The ballroom was filled with string music, laughter, crystal glasses, and the constant hum of conversation.
Yet beneath all of it came a faint electronic chirp.
Beep.
Beep.
Beep.
She turned toward the Christmas tree.
One of the security men noticed her movement.
"Miss Whitmore?"
"Something is wrong."
She stepped forward.
The silver ornaments shimmered in the candlelight.
At the base of the tree sat a small black gift box.
It had not been there ten minutes earlier.
Clara knew because she had personally inspected every package.
She pointed.
"That."
Adrien was beside her immediately.
"What?"
"That box."
His face changed.
"Everybody back."
Security reacted instantly.
Guests began whispering.
Adrien grabbed Clara's arm.
"Move."
They had barely reached the marble hallway when the box emitted a sharp click.
Nothing happened.
Everyone froze.
Then Luca crouched beside it.
"False trigger."
He opened the box.
Inside was no bomb.
Only a phone.
The screen showed one message.
YOU SHOULD HAVE LEFT BEFORE MIDNIGHT.
Clara felt all the warmth leave her face.
Adrien took the phone.
"Trace it."
Luca nodded.
One of the technicians rushed over.
Meanwhile, the guests were being moved into smaller rooms under the excuse of a security inspection.
Clara stood near the staircase while Adrien spoke quietly with Luca.
A hand touched her shoulder.
She spun around.
Marco.
"Come with me."
"No."
His eyes narrowed.
"You need to leave this room."
"Why?"
"Because you're being watched."
Clara stared at him.
"You seem unusually concerned for someone who thinks I'm a thief."
Marco's expression didn't change.
"You're making enemies you don't understand."
"Did you put the message there?"
His eyes sharpened.
"No."
"Then who did?"
He stepped closer.
"That's what we're trying to find out."
A voice came from behind them.
"Marco."
Adrien.
Marco stepped away.
Adrien walked toward them.
"What did you tell her?"
"Nothing useful."
"Good."
Adrien turned to Clara.
"Stay with me."
She almost laughed.
"You've said that twice."
"And I'll keep saying it."
For a second, they stared at each other.
Something shifted.
Not trust.
Something more dangerous.
Awareness.
The technician approached.
"We traced the phone."
Adrien looked at him.
"Location."
The technician swallowed.
"Inside the estate."
Everyone went silent.
Adrien's gaze moved slowly across the ballroom.
"That's impossible."
"No, boss."
The technician showed him the signal map.
"It isn't coming from outside."
"It is coming from—"
He stopped.
Clara followed his gaze.
The signal was coming from Adrien's private study.
Adrien's expression turned cold.
They ran upstairs.
The study door was locked.
Luca forced it open.
Nothing appeared disturbed.
Bookshelves.
Desk.
Fireplace.
The silver angel still rested exactly where Adrien had placed it.
Then Clara noticed something.
"Wait."
She walked to the desk.
There was a thin line of snow on the carpet.
Adrien frowned.
"Snow?"
Clara looked toward the windows.
Every one of them was locked from the inside.
She crouched.
The snow led beneath the desk.
Luca pulled the desk forward.
A small vent had been removed.
Inside was an envelope.
Adrien opened it.
A single photograph fell into his hand.
Clara's heart stopped.
The photograph showed her.
Standing outside the Valente estate.
Taken two days before she had ever been hired.
She stared at it.
"I've never seen that."
Adrien turned the photo over.
Written on the back were six words.
SHE DOESN'T KNOW WHO HER FATHER WAS.
Clara's knees nearly gave out.
Adrien caught her before she fell.
"Clara."
She looked up at him.
"My father?"
He said nothing.
"Why would someone be watching me before I came here?"
Adrien's jaw tightened.
Then Marco entered the room.
One look at the photograph changed his expression.
"You found it."
Adrien slowly turned.
"You know what this is."
Marco's face went pale.
And before he could answer, every light in the mansion went out.
May you like
The ballroom below erupted in screams.
Then someone fired a gun.
Related Stories
