Chapter 4 - The Man Behind the Camera
“She came when the man wouldn't let me out.”
I replayed Rosie's words three times.
Each time, I felt something shift inside me.
Beth hadn't simply taken Rosie from her bedroom.
Someone else had gotten to my daughter first.
Roman watched the recording beside me.
“Who is the man, Evelyn?”
“I don't know.”
“Did Grant have anyone watching Rosie?”
I thought about the weeks leading up to the wedding.
Grant had insisted that his personal security team accompany us everywhere.
He'd said it was necessary because of his family's business.
One particular man always seemed to be nearby.
Tall.
Gray-haired.
Usually wearing a dark suit and a silver watch.
“Martin Vale,” I whispered.
Roman looked up.
“Who?”
“Grant's security manager. Rosie calls him Mr. Martin.”
I remembered something else.
That morning, Vale had been standing outside Rosie's room.
When I asked why, he said Grant wanted to make sure no one disturbed her before the ceremony.
Roman looked toward Anthony.
“Find Vale.”
Anthony stepped into the hallway.
I pulled the sweater against my chest.
“Beth wouldn't hurt Rosie.”
Roman didn't immediately agree.
“She may have been trying to protect her. But she's still part of what's happening.”
I hated hearing that.
Because it was true.
My sister had sent me into Roman's dining room without explaining why.
She'd known something terrible might happen.
And she'd let me walk into it.
“Why didn't she tell me?” I asked.
Roman's expression softened.
“That's what we need to find out.”
A hotel manager arrived a few minutes later.
Her name was Denise Harper.
She was a composed woman in her fifties who looked deeply upset by what she'd learned.
“I've spoken to the police,” she said. “They're sending officers to coordinate with our security staff.”
She placed a printed garage record on the table.
“The woman and child in the video never left the property.”
I stared at her.
“What?”
“The footage shows them crossing the garage, but no vehicle registered to the wedding party exited afterward.”
Roman leaned forward.
“Could they have left on foot?”
“Possibly. We're checking every exit. But one thing is unusual.”
She pointed toward the time displayed on the recording.
“That's eleven minutes after Mr. Whitmore told our wedding coordinator that the child had already been taken home.”
I looked up.
Grant had told somebody Rosie was gone before the footage showed Beth walking with her.
He hadn't been guessing.
He'd known.
Denise continued.
“We also found a service cart abandoned beside the freight elevators.”
My heart beat faster.
“Was Rosie there?”
“No. But we found something caught in the cart's wheel.”
She placed a tiny object on a clean napkin.
A red, heart-shaped button.
I began crying.
It matched the buttons on Rosie's sweater.
The thread was still attached.
“She was there,” I whispered.
Roman carefully picked it up.
“Which floor was the cart on?”
“The fourth.”
I stared at Denise.
“Rosie's room was on the fifth.”
“Yes.”
“Then somebody brought her downstairs.”
Roman looked toward the doors.
The fourth floor contained several private meeting rooms used by wedding vendors and corporate guests.
Grant had reserved two of them for the evening.
I remembered seeing the reservations on the wedding schedule.
One was labeled Bridal Storage.
The other was marked Private Hospitality.
“Grant booked those rooms,” I said.
Roman stood.
“Anthony needs to know.”
But before he could move, the dining room doors opened.
Grant walked inside.
His tuxedo jacket was gone.
His white shirt sleeves were rolled up.
He looked furious.
“Evelyn, what have you done?”
I stood.
“Where is Rosie?”
“She's being looked after.”
“By Martin Vale?”
Grant's expression changed.
Only slightly.
But I saw it.
“Martin works for me.”
“Did you order him to take her?”
Grant gave a sharp laugh.
“Don't be ridiculous.”
Roman stepped beside me.
“Then let us speak to him.”
“I don't answer to you, DeLuca.”
“No,” Roman said. “But you will answer to the police.”
Grant's face tightened.
For a second, I saw the man who'd spent eleven months controlling what I wore, where I went, and whom I spoke to.
Then he looked at me.
“Evelyn, you have no idea what you're doing.”
“I'm trying to find my daughter.”
“And I'm trying to stop you from making the biggest mistake of your life.”
I felt the familiar urge to apologize.
To make things quiet.
To say whatever would calm him down.
Then I looked at the button in Roman's hand.
And something inside me finally refused.
“I am not marrying you.”
Grant stared at me.
“You don't mean that.”
“I do.”
“You're emotional.”
“My daughter is missing.”
He stepped closer.
“Listen carefully. Everything I've done has been for our future.”
“Then why did you threaten to take Rosie away?”
His eyes moved toward Roman.
“Because sometimes a child needs structure.”
I almost laughed.
“She's seven, Grant. She needs her mother.”
“She needs stability.”
“Then give her back.”
His mouth tightened.
“You think you can leave me at the altar, embarrass my family, and just walk away?”
Roman moved forward.
“That's exactly what she can do.”
Grant looked at him.
“Stay out of my relationship.”
“Your relationship ended when she said it ended.”
For several seconds, nobody spoke.
Then Grant looked at me.
His voice became strangely calm.
“Fine.”
He reached inside his jacket.
Roman's security men shifted.
But Grant only removed a folded piece of paper.
He laid it on the table.
It was a form I'd never seen before.
Across the top were the words:
Temporary Child-Care Authorization.
My name was printed beneath them.
So was Rosie's.
And beside the signature line was a mark that looked disturbingly like my handwriting.
“I thought you'd be sensible,” Grant said.
I stared at the paper.
“I didn't sign this.”
He shrugged.
“You signed quite a few things during the wedding preparations.”
Roman moved closer.
I looked at the date.
It was yesterday.
I'd signed nothing yesterday except the florist's delivery receipt.
Grant leaned toward me.
“Your sister helped prepare the paperwork.”
My stomach turned.
“Beth?”
He smiled.
May you like
Then he said the words I'd been afraid of hearing.
“Ask your sister why she agreed that Rosie needed to be separated from you.”
