Chapter 9 - THE FACE ON THE SCREEN
I sat in the director’s office for twenty minutes.
I held Noah on my lap the entire time.
Detective Mitchell arrived shortly after.
She walked into the room, her expression grim.
"Is he okay?" she asked softly.
"He's perfect," I said, my voice hoarse.
"He doesn't know anything happened."
Mitchell nodded.
"We have officers stationed at every exit."
"No one is getting near him."
She looked at the school director.
"I need to see the security footage."
"Right now."
The director quickly led us into a small back room.
A bank of monitors glowed against the wall.
"Brenda said the man arrived at 2:15 PM," the director said, clicking the mouse.
I stood behind her, my heart pounding in my throat.
The video flickered.
The camera angle showed the front lobby.
A man walked through the double doors.
He was tall.
Broad shoulders.
Wearing a dark suit and sunglasses.
He approached the desk.
Brenda spoke to him.
He leaned forward, placing his hands on the counter.
Something about his posture made my blood run cold.
It was too familiar.
Too confident.
Brenda shook her head on the screen.
She pointed toward the door.
The man argued for a moment, then finally turned around.
As he walked toward the exit, he took off his sunglasses.
He looked directly up at the camera.
I stopped breathing.
"Pause it," I whispered.
The director clicked the mouse.
The image froze.
The man's face was perfectly clear.
Sharp jawline.
Dark hair.
Cold, calculating eyes.
"Do you know him?" Detective Mitchell asked.
I stared at the screen, my stomach twisting into violent knots.
I knew exactly who he was.
He had been at my wedding.
He had come to our house for dinner parties.
He had sent a gift when Noah was born.
"His name is Marcus Vance," I said.
My voice sounded hollow.
Like it belonged to someone else.
"He's a lawyer."
"He's Ethan's best friend."
Detective Mitchell pulled out her notepad.
"Are you sure?"
"Positive."
I closed my eyes, trying to process the magnitude of the betrayal.
Ethan hadn't just hired a random stranger.
He had used his closest friend.
The man who had drawn up our wills.
The man who had recommended the accountant who handled my inheritance.
Marcus had been inside the circle of trust from the very beginning.
"He knows everything about my finances," I whispered.
"He helped set up the trust fund for Noah."
Detective Mitchell's expression darkened.
"He didn't just help set it up," she said.
"He designed the loopholes they were going to use to drain it."
I looked back at the frozen image on the screen.
Marcus Vance.
He had smiled at me.
He had held my son.
All while planning to destroy me.
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"I want him arrested," I said.
"I want them all arrested."
