Chapter 2 — Twelve Minutes Missing
Juliano replayed the footage three times.
Vanessa entered the guest bathroom at 7:14 p.m.
Clara entered at 7:19 with clean towels.
Vanessa stepped into the hallway, checked both directions, then returned.
At 7:22, she removed the ring from her finger.
At 7:23, she slipped it into Clara’s purse.
Clear.
Deliberate.
Unmistakable.
Juliano sat back in his chair.
He did not feel shocked.
That bothered him.
Somewhere inside him, something had already known.
He switched camera angles.
The hallway camera showed Vanessa waiting outside the bathroom.
Another showed her speaking to Mateo twenty minutes earlier.
No audio.
Juliano zoomed in.
Vanessa handed Mateo something small.
An envelope.
Mateo looked uncomfortable, but he took it.
Juliano’s jaw tightened.
He opened the security system log.
Camera 6 had recorded continuously.
Camera 7 had a twelve-minute gap.
Camera 8 had been manually disabled.
Someone with administrator access had altered the system.
Only three people had that level of clearance.
Juliano.
Mateo.
And Vanessa.
A knock sounded.
“Come in.”
Mateo entered.
He shut the door behind him.
“You saw it?” he asked.
Juliano watched him.
“You tell me.”
Mateo looked toward the monitors.
For the first time in nine years, the security chief avoided his employer’s eyes.
Juliano stood.
“What was in the envelope?”
Mateo swallowed.
“Cash.”
“How much?”
“Ten thousand.”
Juliano’s face went still.
Mateo quickly added, “I didn’t know she was framing Clara.”
“What did you think she was paying you to do?”
Mateo rubbed a hand across his mouth.
“To disable the guest corridor cameras.”
“That sounded normal to you?”
“She said she wanted privacy.”
“For what?”
Mateo said nothing.
Juliano stepped closer.
“For what?”
“She said she was meeting someone.”
The room seemed to narrow.
“Who?”
“I don’t know.”
“You took ten thousand dollars not to know?”
Mateo flinched.
It was not fear.
It was shame.
“I made a mistake.”
“No,” Juliano said. “You made a decision.”
Mateo looked down.
Juliano turned back to the monitor.
“Why frame Clara?”
“I don’t know.”
“You’re lying.”
“I’m not.”
“Then you’re useless.”
Mateo’s face hardened.
“That’s not fair.”
Juliano turned.
“Clara is standing in my entryway with half the house believing she’s a thief because you sold access to my cameras.”
Mateo opened his mouth.
Nothing came out.
Then the office phone rang.
Juliano answered.
One of the maids spoke in a shaky whisper.
“Sir, you need to come downstairs.”
“What happened?”
“It’s Clara.”
Juliano looked toward the door.
“What about her?”
There was a pause.
“Ms. Vanessa says Clara attacked her.”
A scream echoed faintly through the phone.
Juliano dropped the receiver.
May you like
When he reached the entryway, Vanessa was on the floor.
And Clara was holding a bloody letter opener.
