Chapter 2: The Document That No Longer Existed
Part 2 ⬇️
I turned to Evelyn.
"How long has she been using that entrance?"
"Since Anna joined the household.
Five years is the standard—"
"Lily is four."
Evelyn paused.
Just a half second.
But I caught it.
"She began accompanying her mother approximately eighteen months ago."
"And the brace?"
"Eight months."
Eight months.
The child had been catching that hinge for eight months.
The scratches told me that before Evelyn did.
I looked at Anna.
She was still crouched beside Lily, one hand resting on her daughter's back.
She wasn't looking at me.
She was looking at the floor the way people look at floors when they are trying very hard not to say something they cannot take back.
"Anna."
She looked up.
"Did you ask for a different route?"
Something moved across her face.
Not surprise.
Recognition.
"Mr.
Moretti—"
"Did you ask."
"Yes."
One word.
Barely above a whisper.
Evelyn's chin lifted half an inch.
"The request was reviewed and declined.
The service corridor policy exists for—"
"Show me the request."
Silence.
Marco hadn't moved.
Norah hadn't moved.
Nobody breathed.
Evelyn smiled again.
Slower this time.
"I'm afraid that particular correspondence is no longer on file."
That was when I understood.
The missing money had brought me downstairs.
But the missing document was the real problem.
And Evelyn knew exactly where it was.
---
What Mr.
May you like
Moretti found in that missing file exposed something far darker than stolen money.
Click the link below to read the full story — and find out what Evelyn had been hiding for eight months.
