Chapter 3 - THE NANNY’S PASSWORD
Lily stared at Dominic.
For a moment she thought she had misunderstood him.
“My code?”
Dominic nodded.
“That’s impossible.”
“That’s what I told Marcus.”
“I don’t have security access.”
“You have limited household access.”
“To Ethan’s nursery schedule.”
“And employee doors.”
“Not cameras.”
Dominic said nothing.
Lily stood.
Pain immediately tightened around her ribs.
“I didn’t erase anything.”
“I know.”
The answer stopped her.
Lily stared at him.
“You believe me?”
Dominic looked toward the bruise forming beneath her sleeve.
“I walked into my house and saw you crawling across the floor trying to reach my injured son.”
His jaw tightened.
“I heard Serena threaten you.”
Lily slowly sat again.
“But someone wants me to believe you erased the footage.”
He stepped closer.
“And that interests me.”
His phone rang again.
This time Dominic put it on speaker.
Marcus spoke immediately.
“We found something else.”
“What?”
“Lily’s credentials were cloned.”
Lily closed her eyes.
Dominic looked at her.
“When?”
Marcus answered.
“First unauthorized login was six weeks ago.”
“Location?”
“Interior network.”
“Which terminal?”
There was a pause.
“We’re still tracing it.”
“Find it.”
“I’m working on it.”
“Marcus.”
“Yes?”
“Whoever did this is inside my house.”
“I know.”
Dominic’s voice became colder.
“Then stop treating my house like it’s secure.”
Marcus was silent.
“Understood.”
Dominic ended the call.
Lily looked down at her hands.
Six weeks.
Someone had been using her credentials for six weeks.
She thought about every strange thing that had happened.
Missing keys.
A nursery window left open.
Medicine moved from one cabinet to another.
Serena accusing Lily of forgetting instructions.
Dominic walked toward the door.
“Stay here.”
“Where are you going?”
“Home.”
Lily immediately stood again.
“No.”
Dominic turned.
“You’re injured.”
“Ethan is here.”
“And guarded.”
“Serena is there.”
“Yes.”
“That’s exactly why you shouldn’t go alone.”
Dominic almost smiled.
Almost.
“I haven’t gone anywhere alone since I was sixteen.”
“You came home alone tonight.”
That stopped him.
Lily realized what she had said.
Dominic looked at her.
“Why did you?”
He did not answer.
“Sir?”
“My driver’s daughter was sick.”
Dominic opened the door.
“I sent him home.”
“And your security?”
“I dismissed them at the gate.”
“Why?”
Dominic hesitated.
“I wanted one quiet night with my son.”
The irony hung between them.
Lily looked away.
Dominic’s voice softened.
“I almost arrived twenty minutes later.”
Lily looked back.
Neither needed to say what that might have meant.
Dominic left.
By midnight, Blackwood Mansion looked less like a home and more like a fortress.
Every employee had been gathered in the main dining room.
Phones were collected.
Doors were locked.
Security personnel stood at every exit.
Serena sat at the end of the long dining table.
She had changed clothes.
The elegant dress she had worn earlier was gone.
She now wore a cream sweater and dark pants.
She looked almost ordinary.
Almost vulnerable.
That was deliberate.
Dominic entered.
Every conversation stopped.
Marcus followed him.
Serena stood.
“Dominic.”
“Sit.”
She remained standing.
“We need to talk privately.”
“No.”
“Please.”
“Sit.”
She slowly sat.
Dominic walked to the head of the table.
Twenty-three employees watched him.
Some were frightened.
Others confused.
One looked sick.
Dominic noticed.
“Tonight, someone deleted security recordings from this property.”
Nobody moved.
“The deletion occurred after my son was injured.”
Serena folded her arms.
Dominic continued.
“The access credentials belonged to Lily Parker.”
Several employees exchanged looks.
Serena gave a tiny sigh.
Dominic heard it.
“Something amusing?”
“No.”
“You sighed.”
“I’m tired.”
“So is my son.”
Serena looked down.
Dominic turned toward Marcus.
“Tell them.”
Marcus stepped forward.
“The credentials were cloned six weeks ago.”
Serena looked up.
Dominic watched her.
Marcus continued.
“Which means Lily Parker did not perform tonight’s deletion.”
Serena’s face barely changed.
Barely.
But Dominic saw the disappointment.
“So,” Dominic said, “someone in this room framed her.”
Silence.
Dominic walked slowly along the table.
Nobody met his eyes.
“Six weeks ago, someone accessed the internal system.”
He stopped behind the estate manager.
“Five weeks ago, someone disabled the east corridor camera for eleven minutes.”
The manager swallowed.
“Four weeks ago, someone copied my private calendar.”
Dominic moved again.
“Three weeks ago, someone accessed financial records belonging to the Blackwood family trust.”
Serena’s fingers tightened around each other.
Dominic noticed.
“And tonight, someone erased footage after my child was injured.”
He reached Serena.
Then walked past her.
“What I want to know is simple.”
He stopped.
“Who?”
Nobody answered.
Dominic looked at Marcus.
“Search the rooms.”
Several employees immediately protested.
Serena stood.
“You can’t search my things.”
Dominic turned.
Everyone became silent.
Serena realized her mistake.
Dominic slowly approached her.
“Why not?”
“Because I have privacy.”
“In my house?”
“I live here.”
“For now.”
Her expression changed.
Dominic continued.
“My son is in a hospital with a fractured wrist.”
His voice remained quiet.
“My nanny was assaulted.”
“My security system was compromised.”
“And you’re concerned about your privacy?”
Serena looked around the table.
“You’re humiliating me.”
“No.”
Dominic stepped closer.
“Humiliation is temporary.”
He looked directly into her eyes.
“What comes next depends on what Marcus finds.”
Serena’s face hardened.
“You think I did this.”
“I think someone did.”
“And Lily filled your head with lies.”
“Lily didn’t delete the recordings.”
“She could have had help.”
Dominic studied her.
“So could you.”
Serena laughed.
“Why would I hurt Ethan?”
Dominic did not answer.
“Tell me.”
Her voice rose.
“I’m marrying you.”
“You keep saying that.”
Serena stopped.
Dominic tilted his head.
“Why?”
“What?”
“Every time Ethan comes up, you remind everyone you’re marrying me.”
“Because I am.”
“Are you?”
The room became completely silent.
Serena stared at him.
“You proposed.”
“I did.”
“You gave me a ring.”
“I did.”
“You set a date.”
“I did.”
“So what are you saying?”
Dominic looked at the diamond on her finger.
“I’m saying weddings can be canceled.”
Serena’s face went white.
Then Marcus’s radio crackled.
A security officer spoke.
“We found something.”
Dominic turned.
“Where?”
“Miss Montigue’s dressing room.”
Serena moved so quickly her chair fell backward.
“No.”
Everyone stared at her.
Marcus looked at Dominic.
Dominic looked at Serena.
“What did they find?”
The officer answered through the radio.
“A second phone.”
Serena stopped breathing.
“And a key.”
Dominic’s eyes narrowed.
“What key?”
There was a pause.
Then the officer answered.
“It opens the private safe in Mr. Blackwood’s study.”
May you like
Dominic slowly turned toward Serena.
Only three people in the world were supposed to have that key.
