Chapter 4 - The Man Who Never Entered The Building
The missing contractor was named Daniel Voss.
He had handled maintenance inspections across Alessandro's properties for years.
He had never been accused of stealing.
Never missed a scheduled inspection.
Never caused trouble.
That made his disappearance more disturbing.
Alessandro ordered a complete review of Daniel's recent work.
Elena stayed nearby, holding Mia.
For the first time since she had started working in the penthouse, she didn't look like a maid waiting for instructions.
She looked like a mother waiting to know whether her child was safe.
Alessandro noticed.
“You should have told me sooner.”
“I was afraid.”
“Of me?”
Elena shook her head.
“Of what would happen if I was wrong.”
Alessandro studied her.
That answer mattered.
She wasn't accusing anyone.
She was protecting Mia from uncertainty.
Then a security officer entered.
“We found something.”
Alessandro followed him to the service corridor.
A maintenance log showed Daniel had signed into the building six times in the previous month.
But there was a problem.
The building's cameras showed him entering only once.
Someone had been using his identity.
Alessandro stared at the paperwork.
“Who approved these entries?”
The officer checked.
“Household administration.”
Alessandro's eyes moved toward Elena.
She immediately shook her head.
“I don't handle security.”
“I know.”
They returned to the penthouse.
Alessandro asked Elena whether Daniel had ever spoken to her.
She thought for several seconds.
“Once.”
“When?”
“The second week after I brought Mia.”
“What did he say?”
“He asked if she was sleeping well.”
Alessandro went silent.
That was not a normal question from a maintenance worker.
“What did you tell him?”
“That she was.”
“And then?”
“He looked at the baby and said, ‘Good. Keep the door locked.’”
Alessandro's expression tightened.
“Why didn't you tell me that?”
“I thought he was warning me.”
“Maybe he was.”
That possibility changed the meaning of everything.
Daniel might not have been the person watching Mia.
He might have been trying to warn Elena.
Alessandro returned to the photograph.
He enlarged it.
The image had been taken from the laundry doorway.
But whoever took it had not been standing near the baby.
They had been standing farther back.
Near the service corridor.
The photograph wasn't about Mia.
It was about who could reach her.
Then Alessandro noticed something else.
A small silver reflection appeared in the edge of the picture.
A ring.
May you like
One he recognized.
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