Chapter 4 - THE BODYGUARD WHO KNEW TOO MUCH
Nolan denied disabling the cameras.
He had worked for Marcus for six years and knew the security systems better than most people in the company. When Elias confronted him with the login records, Nolan claimed his credentials were compromised.
Marcus wanted to believe him.
That desire frightened him.
He had spent eight months accepting Victoria’s explanations because she was Nathan’s widow. Now he felt the same instinct rising for a man who had protected him at business events and traveled with him through dangerous cities.
He called the detective instead of Nolan.
The investigation revealed that the security login came from a tablet assigned to Nolan, but the device had been left inside the mansion two days earlier. It was possible someone else used it.
That uncertainty mattered.
Then the police found a second recording source.
Mae Thompson had installed a small nursery camera after Lily began having trouble sleeping. Victoria disliked it because she said household staff should not monitor her parenting, but Mae persuaded Marcus to keep it for overnight check-ins.
The camera recorded to a separate cloud account.
Its angle included part of the living room through an open doorway.
Mae had not deleted the recordings.
The footage showed Victoria carrying the fuel container into the room. Derek followed. Lily was already crying, and Victoria placed her on the floor near the tea table.
The camera did not capture every word.
It captured enough.
Victoria asked Derek, “Are you certain the old man signed the right version?”
Derek answered, “He refused the restructuring. This is the only remaining way.”
Marcus watched from the hospital consultation room while a detective explained what the video established.
Victoria and Derek were discussing a failed financial maneuver immediately before threatening Lily.
The attack was not a spontaneous argument.
It was connected to the inheritance.
But the conversation contained another phrase.
Derek said, “Nathan made this harder than it should’ve been.”
Victoria replied, “Nathan isn’t here anymore.”
Marcus stopped the playback.
“Again.”
The detective played it again.
Nathan made this harder.
Not Nathan’s will.
Nathan.
Marcus felt cold.
Derek had witnessed the disputed inheritance directive. He was also Victoria’s lover, and now he was present during an attempt to kill Nathan’s daughter.
Marcus asked for Nathan’s accident file.
That evening, Mae finally called him.
She was hiding at her sister’s house.
She admitted sending the photograph and the warning.
“I knew they were going to hurt her,” she whispered.
“Why didn’t you call the police?”
“I did. I also sent it to you because I was afraid they would finish before anyone arrived.”
“Where were you?”
“I was in the laundry corridor. Derek locked the staff entrance after he found me watching.”
Marcus closed his eyes.
Mae explained that Victoria had been arguing with Derek for days about a deadline connected to the estate. That morning, she heard them discussing Lily and the will.
Then she saw the fuel container.
Mae escaped through the service entrance and sent Marcus the photograph from her phone.
“Why did you tell me to check Nathan’s will?”
“Because Nathan told me what he was afraid of before he died.”
Marcus stopped breathing for a moment.
“What did he tell you?”
May you like
Mae began crying.
“He said if anything happened to him, I was supposed to keep Lily away from Derek.”
