Chapter 2 - Eleven Missing Minutes
The police entered the villa while the security system was still rebooting.
Two officers separated everyone immediately.
Sophia was guided toward the living room.
Richard was told to keep his hands visible.
Ethan stood between the two worlds, physically free but emotionally trapped.
Officer Ramirez, a woman with a calm voice and an unreadable expression, listened as Sophia described an alleged confrontation.
Sophia said Richard had cornered her.
She said he had threatened her.
She said she had torn her blouse while trying to get away.
The last sentence made Ethan close his eyes.
He had just watched the opposite happen.
"There is video," he said.
Sophia turned sharply.
Officer Ramirez held up one hand.
"Sir, I'll speak with you separately."
Richard said nothing.
He seemed less interested in defending himself than in watching Sophia construct a story around evidence she did not know how to erase.
A second officer went to the security panel.
The monitor came back online.
The hallway feed reappeared.
Richard exhaled.
"Play the last five minutes."
The officer did.
The footage showed exactly what Ethan had already seen.
Sophia tearing her blouse.
Sophia preparing her expression.
Sophia screaming before Richard approached her.
Officer Ramirez looked at Sophia.
"Is that you?"
Sophia's face hardened.
"Yes."
"Did Mr. Hale touch you during that recording?"
"Not during that part."
Ethan's stomach dropped.
She had found a new path.
"He did it before," Sophia said.
Richard finally reacted.
"No."
She pointed at the monitor.
"Go back."
The officer dragged the timeline earlier.
9:03 a.m.
9:02.
9:01.
Then the feed jumped.
The image moved directly from 8:50 to 9:01.
Eleven minutes were missing.
The officer tried again.
The gap remained.
Sophia's face softened with visible relief.
"That's when it happened."
Ethan stared at the screen.
Richard stepped closer.
"That footage was there this morning."
Officer Ramirez turned toward him.
"How do you know?"
"Because I reviewed the system at eight thirty after the bank called."
Sophia gave a weak, wounded laugh.
"Of course you did."
Richard ignored her.
"Someone deleted those eleven minutes."
The second officer checked the system log.
"Administrative deletion at 9:14."
Ethan looked at the time.
9:14 was after Richard and Sophia's confrontation had started.
"Who has administrator access?"
Richard answered carefully.
"Myself, Ethan, and Marcus Trent, our security manager."
Sophia's gaze flicked toward Ethan.
The movement lasted less than a second.
Richard saw it.
"Where is Marcus?"
Ethan pulled out his phone.
"He was supposed to be here at seven."
He called.
The line went directly to voicemail.
He called again.
Same result.
Officer Ramirez asked for Marcus's full name and phone number.
Then she asked to see the system logs.
The deletion had been performed remotely.
The login credentials belonged to Ethan.
Nobody in the room spoke for several seconds.
Ethan's face drained of color.
"I was in my car at 9:14."
Sophia whispered, "Ethan..."
He looked at her.
Something in his expression stopped her from continuing.
Richard's attention shifted to Sophia's purse on the marble console table.
Her phone was visible through the open zipper.
"Officer."
Ramirez followed his gaze.
Sophia grabbed the purse.
"That's private."
The officer's tone remained even.
"Nobody is searching your phone without consent or legal authority."
Sophia held the purse to her chest.
"Good."
Richard turned toward Ethan.
"Check your security app."
Ethan opened his phone.
He had not used the app in months.
The login history showed a new device added three weeks earlier.
Device name: E-Hale-iPad.
Ethan frowned.
"I don't own an iPad."
Sophia's eyes moved toward the floor.
Richard asked the question softly.
"Does Sophia?"
Ethan did not answer.
He remembered the silver tablet she kept beside the bed.
He remembered entering his password for her two months ago when she said the streaming service had logged out.
He remembered laughing when she told him he used the same password for everything.
His heart began beating harder.
Officer Ramirez asked Sophia whether she owned an iPad.
"Half the country owns an iPad."
"Is that a yes?"
Sophia's eyes narrowed.
"Yes."
The second officer looked up from the system log.
"The remote deletion came from the villa's guest Wi-Fi."
Ethan stared at Sophia.
She looked back at him.
For the first time since he had rushed into the hallway, there was no fear in her expression.
Only calculation.
Then Ethan's phone buzzed.
A bank alert appeared.
Another transfer request had just been submitted.
Amount: $1,800,000.
Destination: Mercer Holdings LLC.
Richard read the name over Ethan's shoulder.
His face changed in a way Ethan had never seen before.
Not shock.
Recognition.
"Mercer," Richard whispered.
Ethan looked at him.
"Who is Mercer?"
Richard did not answer immediately.
He looked across the room at Sophia.
She had gone completely still.
May you like
"Daniel Mercer," Richard finally said.
"My attorney."
