Chapter 5 - The Man in the Garage
Adrian reached the estate twenty-three minutes later with two security vehicles behind him.
The black Range Rover was still there.
Marcus was not.
One guard lay on the garage floor with blood at his hairline, conscious but dazed. The night contractor who had called Adrian sat against the wall holding a towel to his split lip.
"He took off through the service garden," the contractor said. "Had a backpack."
Adrian looked at the Range Rover.
The rear hatch was open.
Inside were two hard drives, a banker box, and a shredder bag filled with strips of paper.
Marcus had not escaped with everything.
Noah arrived ten minutes later and started photographing before anyone touched a thing.
One label on the banker box read C. VALE - BEHAVIORAL.
Adrian's stomach turned.
Inside were printed emails, screenshots of Claire crying during video calls, lists of medication, and notes describing normal pregnancy symptoms as evidence of "decline."
Someone had been building a case.
The night contractor introduced himself as Luis Ortega. "I saw Mr. Dean in the camera room a lot lately. I figured he was doing maintenance."
"Did my mother come with him?"
Luis hesitated. "Sometimes."
"Sometimes how often?"
"Three, four times a week."
Adrian stared at him.
Evelyn had told him she stopped by "occasionally" to help Claire.
Noah lifted a shredded strip. "We can reconstruct some of this."
Adrian's phone rang.
Claire.
"Where are you?" she asked.
"At the house."
Her breath caught. "You left the hospital?"
"Security is with you. I had to see something."
"Adrian, Evelyn called the room."
"What?"
"She told the nurse she was my mother and asked to speak to my attending physician."
His anger went cold.
"Did they connect her?"
"No. But then a social worker came in."
Adrian gripped the phone.
"Why?"
Claire was silent long enough to scare him.
"Someone filed a concern that I may be a danger to myself and the baby."
Noah heard it through the speaker.
He stopped moving.
Claire whispered, "They said the report was submitted two days ago."
Adrian closed his eyes.
Two days ago, he had still been in Singapore.
Claire added, "And they said the person who filed it identified herself as family."
Adrian looked at the box marked BEHAVIORAL.
Then Noah pulled one intact page from beneath the shredded paper.
"Adrian," he said. "You need to see this."
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At the bottom of the page was an attorney's draft heading:
PETITION FOR EMERGENCY GUARDIANSHIP OF UNBORN BENEFICIARY.
