Chapter 14
Grace immediately sprang into action, lunging toward the ornate bedside table. She hit the caller ID function, but the digital screen simply displayed a string of encrypted zeros. The stranger had utilized a sophisticated signal-bouncing proxy to dial directly into the estate’s secure internal network. This proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that the Caldwell family’s security infrastructure had been completely compromised from the inside.
Without a second of hesitation, Grace unclipped her radio and contacted Thomas. "Thomas, initiate a total lockdown on the internal communications grid immediately! Someone just bypassed the firewall and routed a call directly into Lily’s bedroom!"
Less than five minutes later, Ethan arrived in the bedroom accompanied by his two top-tier cybersecurity experts. His face was carved from granite, his previous exhaustion entirely replaced by a blinding, absolute fury.
"What did they say to you?" Ethan demanded, his voice low and freezing.
"It was a standard threat," Grace replied, revealing absolutely no trace of fear. "But the threat isn't the problem. The problem is that they knew exactly where I was, at this exact moment. There is a hidden camera or an active listening device in this room."
Ethan turned to the technicians. "Sweep the room. Tear up the floorboards if you have to."
While the technicians utilized RF detectors to scan the perimeter, Grace stepped closer to Ethan, keeping her voice low to avoid waking the sleeping child. "Mr. Caldwell, they are demonstrating that you are vulnerable in your own fortress. Did the Vale siblings have administrative access to the security grid?"
"Sabrina had the outer gate codes, but she never interfaced with the internal network," Ethan frowned, desperately trying to recall minor details he had previously dismissed. "But Vance... he was a director at a private cybersecurity firm. He offered to upgrade the estate's servers two months ago. I explicitly declined, but he could have planted a backdoor."
"Bingo," one of the technicians whispered. He used a pair of fine tweezers to extract a microscopic, coin-sized electronic bug meticulously concealed within the brass housing of Lily's bedside lamp. "Continuous audio transmitter, sir. Operates on a thermal-battery loop. And... judging by the frequency, it is likely part of a mesh network. It’s not the only one."
Ethan clenched his fists, his knuckles popping loudly in the quiet room. He had unknowingly allowed venomous snakes to nest in the very heart of his niece's sanctuary.
"Kill the power to the wing. Move Lily to the subterranean safe room in the West Wing," Grace commanded decisively. "And Mr. Caldwell, we need to speak with the police. Not regarding Sabrina, but regarding the security footage of the moment I neutralized her."
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Ethan frowned in confusion. "What is wrong with the footage?"
"If the man in the black suit works for the organization backing Vance," Grace analyzed, her eyes sharp as daggers, "he will require proof to report his operational failure. He undoubtedly cloned or stole the surveillance hard drives from the security room before he vanished. We are fighting ghosts, Mr. Caldwell. And now, they know exactly what my face looks like."
