Chapter 13 - HARBOR HOUSE
Harbor House was not a business. It was a company-owned executive retreat seventy miles north of the city, purchased years earlier for leadership meetings and later used only occasionally. Victoria had been there twice. Lydia used it more often because legal teams held confidential mediation sessions there.
Police reached the property before dawn.
The main house was empty.
Food had been left in the refrigerator, a bedroom had recently been used, and the fireplace contained partially burned documents. Detective Kim found packaging from prescription sedatives and a receipt from a convenience store dated two days earlier.
There was no Elena.
The caretaker’s log claimed nobody had occupied the property all week, but the entry was typed rather than handwritten like previous records. Police located the caretaker at his sister’s house. He admitted Lydia’s private investigator had paid him to leave the property for several days and say nothing about visitors.
The investigator arrived Monday night with Elena.
According to the caretaker, Elena was conscious and angry. She did not appear injured. Lydia arrived separately the following morning and remained less than an hour.
That narrowed the timeline.
Elena survived at least until Tuesday morning.
Police searched the grounds and found tire tracks leading to a maintenance road behind the property. Traffic cameras on a nearby highway captured the investigator’s SUV leaving Tuesday afternoon and heading west.
Victoria thought they had reached another dead end until Detective Kim returned to the old ID card.
The card had been recovered from Maya’s coat, soaked by rain, and everyone had treated its only value as its serial number and handwritten warning. During evidence processing, a technician noticed the plastic layers had separated slightly.
A folded strip of paper had been inserted beneath the laminate.
It contained six handwritten numbers and one word:
PORTER.
Victoria recognized the name.
Harrington Group owned an abandoned distribution site on Porter Road, scheduled for sale. The property had warehouses, maintenance buildings, and no active employees.
Police reached it forty minutes later.
The investigator’s SUV sat behind the smallest maintenance building.
Inside, officers found Elena.
She was dehydrated, weak, and frightened, but alive.
The investigator had left hours earlier after receiving the news that Lydia’s office had been searched. Elena had been locked in an old supervisor’s room with bottled water and packaged food. Her phone and documents were gone.
Maya was brought to the hospital only after doctors cleared Elena for visitors.
Victoria remained outside the room.
She did not belong inside the first reunion.
Through the narrow glass panel, she watched Maya run toward her mother. Elena dropped to her knees despite a nurse trying to stop her and wrapped both arms around her daughter.
Victoria looked away.
An hour later, Elena asked to see her.
She looked exhausted but alert.
“I’m sorry,” Elena said.
Victoria frowned. “For what?”
“For working for you while I was investigating your company.”
“You were investigating what happened to your husband.”
“I was investigating you too.”
Victoria nodded. “You had reason.”
Elena studied her face. “That isn’t what I expected you to say.”
Victoria pulled a chair closer. “Why did you go to Harbor House?”
Elena explained that Lydia confronted her after the archive meeting and claimed Marcus was responsible for the theft. Lydia promised to show Elena original documents proving it if Elena came to an offsite location where company surveillance could not reach them.
Elena knew it might be a trap.
She went anyway because Lydia threatened to report Elena for stealing records and have Maya taken from her if she ran.
At Harbor House, the investigator took Elena’s phone. Lydia demanded the location of the original ledgers and asked whether Maya knew anything.
Elena lied.
She said Maya knew nothing.
That lie kept Maya out of the search long enough to reach Victoria.
Then Elena gave Detective Kim the final thing Lydia did not know existed.
Before entering the archive Monday night, Elena had placed a small audio recorder inside the lining of the canvas document bag.
Lydia took the bag.
If police found it in her possession, the recorder might still contain their conversation.
The warrant team searched Lydia’s home.
May you like
The bag was in a locked basement cabinet.
The recorder was still inside.
