Chapter 4 - The Man Behind the Cameras
The fire was contained before it reached the main building.
Marco recovered the flash drive and ledger, though several boxes of old records were destroyed. Police arrived after the fire department, and Bellamy provided a statement.
Sebastian didn't wait for the investigation to finish.
He called his technical security team and ordered a full audit of the mansion's surveillance system.
Within two hours, they found an unauthorized access point.
Someone had been copying security footage for months.
The access was routed through an account assigned to Marco.
Sebastian summoned his security chief.
“Did you sell access to the cameras?”
Marco looked genuinely offended.
“No.”
“Then explain this.”
Marco studied the access logs.
“Someone cloned my credentials. They used a maintenance terminal in the west wing.”
“Who had access?”
“Me. The senior guards. And anyone who could enter the security office.”
Sebastian thought of the staff, the family members, the business partners who visited regularly.
Then he remembered Rachel's account of the black car outside the servants' entrance.
“Who was on duty the night my father disappeared?”
Marco checked the records.
“Two guards. One was dismissed six months ago. The other is still employed.”
“Name?”
“Anthony Vale.”
Sebastian recognized the name immediately.
Vale had been assigned to the family residence for almost a decade. He was quiet, disciplined, and rarely drew attention.
“Find him.”
Marco called the mansion.
A guard answered after several rings.
“Vale isn't here, sir. He left two hours ago.”
“Where did he go?”
“We don't know.”
Sebastian hung up.
“He's running.”
Marco's face darkened.
“Then he's involved.”
They traced Vale's company vehicle to a private garage on the outskirts of Milwaukee. Inside, they found forged identity documents, several burner phones, and a medical transport schedule listing Antonio's name.
The schedule showed that Antonio had been moved from the rehabilitation center to a private property near Lake Superior.
The destination was registered to a shell company controlled by Vincent.
Sebastian stared at the document.
“My uncle moved my father.”
“Or arranged for him to be moved,” Marco replied.
“Either way, we're going there.”
Before they left, Sebastian called the mansion to check on Vanessa.
The guard reported that she had requested a private conversation.
Sebastian agreed to speak to her by phone.
“Tell me something I don't know,” he said.
Vanessa's voice was exhausted.
“I know who helped Vincent arrange the attack.”
“Who?”
“Your cousin, Michael.”
Sebastian went silent.
Michael Moretti was Vincent's son, a man who had spent years resenting Sebastian's position as heir to the family organization.
“Why would Michael want my father dead?”
“Because Antonio planned to remove Vincent from the business and transfer control of the legitimate companies to you. Michael believed he deserved the inheritance.”
Sebastian gripped the phone.
“And you helped them?”
“I helped your father escape. I thought I could buy him enough time to expose them. But Vincent discovered what I was doing.”
“What did he threaten you with?”
“He said he'd tell you I had arranged the explosion. He had forged messages and financial records to make it look like I had hired the people who planted the explosives.”
Sebastian closed his eyes.
“So you stayed quiet to protect yourself.”
“I stayed quiet because I was afraid he'd kill you.”
“Those are not the same thing.”
“I know.”
For once, Vanessa didn't try to defend herself.
Then she added, “There's something else. Vincent told me that Antonio wasn't the only person who survived the explosion.”
Sebastian's eyes opened.
“Who else?”
“The driver. A man named Luis Ortega.”
Sebastian remembered Luis, his father's longtime driver, who had supposedly died at the scene.
“Where is he?”
“I don't know. But Vincent believed he had seen the person who planted the explosives.”
The line crackled.
Then Vanessa whispered, “Sebastian, if you find your father, don't let him trust Michael. Your cousin isn't acting alone.”
The call ended.
Sebastian turned toward Marco.
“We're going to the lake.”
Marco nodded.
“And then?”
May you like
Sebastian looked at the photograph of his father.
“Then we're going to find out who really ordered the attack.”
