Chapter 141: A SHOCKING DISCOVERY
CALLUM’S POV
"Like... seriously?" Nadia’s voice sounded irritated, like she hadn’t ml together.
"Oh shit. Just when she was coming to terms with it—" Damien muttered in my head.
Keisha and I turned at the exact same moment.
She stood in the doorway, one hand still resting against the frame, her eyes moving slowly from me to Keisha before settling on the pile of investigation files spread across the desk. Whatever she had expected to find when she came downstairs, it was obvious she regretted coming.
For a heartbeat, nobody spoke.. Then she gave a short, humourless laugh and shook her head.. "I shouldn’t even be surprised anymore."
Before either of us could respond, she turned fast on her heel and disappeared back into the hallway. A second later, the sound of hurried footsteps echoed up the staircase, followed by the unmistakable slam of a bedroom door.
You have to be kidding me.
Keisha stared at the doorway for several long seconds before lowering her eyes. "I should..."
I already knew what she was about to say. "No."
She looked at me.
"If you go after her now, she’ll only feel cornered."
A weary sigh escaped her.
From everything I’d seen over the past few days, Nadia wasn’t ready for an actual conversation that would yield results.
The loud vibration of my phone broke the silence.
I glanced at the screen.
Dane.
"He works fast," I muttered before opening the message.
Attached was a photograph taken from the staff records.
The woman in the picture wore the standard kitchen uniform, her dark hair tied neatly beneath a scarf. There was nothing particularly memorable about her appearance, which perhaps explained why nobody had questioned her presence around the estate.
I turned the phone toward Keisha. "Take a careful look."
She leaned closer, studying the photograph without speaking. Her brows slowly drew together before recognition flickered across her face. "It’s her."
"You’re certain?"
She nodded without hesitation. "I didn’t pay much attention that day because she was carrying food from the kitchen. But... yes." She pointed toward the photograph. "I remember her eyes."
Perfect.
At last, the faceless figure from the recovered footage had become someone with a name.
I immediately picked up the delivery ledger again, comparing the photograph with the signature recorded beside the meal delivered to the annex.
Everything matched. "The first thing tomorrow," I said quietly, "we find her."
Keisha nodded. "And if she’s innocent?"
I shrugged. "Can’t be."
Before either of us could continue, footsteps echoed softly from the adjoining hallway.
Vera emerged carrying a mug of tea, dressed in a light robe that suggested she’d only recently left the kitchen.
She looked from the scattered files to the laptop still displaying the paused CCTV footage before offering us both an easy smile.
"Still working?"
"It doesn’t seem to end," I replied.
"It rarely does." She glanced briefly at Keisha. "Good evening."
"Good evening."
Without another question, Vera continued toward the staircase, lifting her cup slightly in farewell before disappearing upstairs.
Her brief appearance barely disturbed the silence that fell over the study once more.
For nearly another hour, Keisha and I reviewed every document one final time, making notes beside names that needed to be questioned and comparing delivery schedules against staff rotations. The closer we looked, the more convinced I became that whoever had orchestrated the incident had to be a complete genius.
It was brilliant.
They had planned every step meticulously.
When I finally leaned back from the desk, I felt exhaustion weighing down on me.
"So tomorrow..." Keisha murmured.
"We start with the maid."
She gave a tired nod. "I just hope we’re not already too late."
***********
The room had grown surprisingly quiet.
I reached for another file before realising the scratching of Keisha’s pen had stopped several minutes earlier.
Looking across the desk, I found her asleep.
Her head rested against one folded arm while the other still lay across an open ledger, as though she’d simply closed her eyes for a moment and never managed to open them again.
A loose strand of hair had fallen across her face.
She was tired.
I quietly gathered the scattered papers beneath her arm so they wouldn’t slide onto the floor before stepping into the hallway.
One of the night attendants was still awake.
"She fell asleep while we were working," I said softly. "Please make sure she’s taken somewhere comfortable to rest."
The attendant nodded immediately. "I’ll see to it, Alpha."
Satisfied she wouldn’t spend the night slumped over a desk, I returned to the study.
Midnight came and went without any other event.
The estate had fallen completely silent by then, leaving only the ticking clock above the fireplace and the occasional turning of another page.
I had almost finished organising the evidence when footsteps approached once more.
Vera appeared in the doorway, this time without the mug she’d been carrying earlier.. "I had a feeling I’d find you here."
"I thought you’d gone to sleep."
"I tried." She crossed the room slowly before lowering herself into the chair opposite mine.
For a while she simply looked around at the mountain of files covering the desk. "You’ve always buried yourself in work whenever something was on your mind."
"It keeps me useful, I guess."
"It keeps you distracted."
A faint smile tugged at the corner of my mouth. "Perhaps."
She rested her elbows lightly against the armrests. "I leave tomorrow."
"So you said."
"And I just wanted to check on you before I did."
"I appreciate that."
No one said anything after a while, then, after a thoughtful pause, Vera spoke again. "Have you forgotten your wife so quickly..." Her eyes met mine steadily. "...that you’re already chasing after young women?"
Oh.
She knew.
I leaned back against the sofa, letting out a slow breath. "’So quickly’ isn’t exactly accurate."
She waited and I continued. "It has been years."
"I know."
"Long enough for grief to change." I said and neither of us said anything for several moments.
Finally, Vera rose to her feet. "You don’t have to explain yourself to me."
She offered a small, tired smile. "You only have to live with your own decisions." She stopped beside the doorway. "And try to take care of Nadia."
"I will." I nodded.
"I know you will." With that, she disappeared upstairs.
After that, I never made it to my bedroom.
Sometime before dawn, I found myself asleep on the couch.
The first rays of morning sunlight filtering through the tall windows were what eventually pulled me awake.
The house was quiet and a servant informed me Vera had already left before sunrise to return to her penthouse, preferring to begin the journey before the roads became busy.
I had barely stepped back into the sitting room when movement on the staircase caught my attention.
Keisha was making her way downstairs, still looking slightly embarrassed. "I didn’t mean to fall asleep."
"You looked like you needed it. Don’t apologise"
"I suppose I did."
She reached the final step just as my phone vibrated sharply inside my pocket.
The caller ID immediately made my attention sharpen.
Doctor Fenn.
I answered at once. "Doctor."
"Callum." Her voice was unusually tense. "I’ve finished analysing the evidence."
My grip tightened around the phone. "And?"
"There are results you need to see for yourself."
Something in her tone immediately put me on edge.
"What did you find?"
A brief silence followed. Then she said quietly, "I don’t want to explain it over the phone."
"You need to come to the hospital. Immediately."
The call ended and for several seconds I remained standing exactly where I was, staring at the dark screen in my hand.
Doctor Fenn was one of the calmest people I had ever known.
If she sounded shaken... then something had happened.