Chapter 8 - The confrontation
The heavy oak doors of the private office were closed. Julian stood in the center of the room, looking nervously at his older brother. Vincent sat behind his massive desk, dressed once again in a perfectly tailored black suit, hiding any trace of weakness.
Marcus stood by the door. Beside him, little Adeline stood holding her mother’s hand, her stuffed green alligator tucked safely under her arm.
"Vincent, you shouldn't be out of bed," Julian said, offering a forced, worried smile. "We need to find who did this."
Vincent leaned forward, resting his hands on the mahogany desk. "We already have, Julian."
Julian’s smile faltered. He looked at Marcus, then down at the two-year-old girl in the blue dress. "What is this? Why is the maid’s child in here?"
Vincent looked at Adeline. His voice, usually meant to strike fear into the hearts of men, softened just enough for her. "Adeline. The man you saw today. The one with the tick-tock in his pocket. Is he in this room?"
Adeline looked at Julian. Her calm, observant blue eyes locked onto his face. She squeezed her stuffed alligator, raised her tiny hand, and pointed directly at Julian.
"That man," Adeline said with innocent certainty.
May you like
Julian laughed, a harsh, defensive sound. "You're taking the word of a toddler? A two-year-old baby? Vincent, this is insane! She probably saw me walking to the library!"
Vincent stood up slowly. His tall, broad-shouldered frame dominated the room. "You didn't go to the library, Julian. The security logs show your keycard accessing the private kitchen five minutes before my espresso was delivered. You thought you disabled the cameras in my hallway, but you forgot that the most observant eyes in this house don't belong to the guards."
