Chapter 8 - The Price of Silence
Anthony Bell had worked for the Rossi family for four years.
He was thirty-two.
Married.
Two children.
No criminal record.
Leo had approved a mortgage loan for him after his second child was born.
Now Anthony sat in the maintenance garage shaking so badly that water spilled from the cup in his hand.
Leo stood across from him.
Mateo remained near the door.
Beatrice had not been invited.
She was listening from the hallway anyway.
“Who paid you?” Leo asked.
Anthony stared at the floor.
“Kensington.”
“How much?”
“Two hundred thousand.”
“For what?”
“To disable the cameras sometimes.”
“Sometimes?”
Anthony swallowed.
“Whenever Miss Kensington sent me a code.”
Leo’s voice became quieter.
“What happened the night Lily was locked in the cellar?”
“She told me to shut down the kitchen cameras.”
“Did you know why?”
“No.”
Leo stepped closer.
Anthony flinched.
“I swear.”
“Then why did you run?”
“Because I saw the footage afterward.”
Leo stopped.
“What footage?”
Anthony looked toward Mateo.
“I didn’t erase everything.”
Mateo’s eyes narrowed.
Anthony continued.
“The main system goes dark when I disable a zone, but there’s a maintenance backup.”
“Where?”
“Off-site diagnostic server.”
Mateo immediately took out his phone.
Anthony shook his head.
“You won’t find it with the estate passwords.”
“Then give me the password.”
Anthony did.
Mateo left.
Leo remained.
“What did the footage show?”
Anthony’s voice cracked.
“Miss Kensington hitting Beatrice.”
Leo’s face became stone.
“And?”
“Locking Lily downstairs.”
“And?”
Anthony hesitated.
Leo leaned closer.
“What else?”
“Gianni was there.”
From the hallway, Beatrice’s breath caught.
Leo heard it.
He turned.
For one second, Beatrice considered stepping away.
Then she walked inside.
Anthony stared at her injured face.
Shame flooded his expression.
“I’m sorry.”
Beatrice ignored him.
“What was Gianni doing?”
Anthony answered.
“Watching.”
The room became silent.
“He watched Victoria lock Lily downstairs?”
Anthony nodded.
“He was in the service corridor.”
“Why didn’t he stop her?”
“He told Victoria she had gone too far.”
Leo’s eyes sharpened.
“What did Victoria say?”
Anthony stared at the table.
“She said Lily had seen her open the Bluebird compartment.”
Beatrice felt cold.
Anthony continued.
“Gianni said Sterling only wanted the ledger.”
“What did Victoria say?”
“She said there couldn’t be another witness.”
Leo slowly straightened.
Even Anthony seemed frightened by the expression on his face.
Beatrice spoke before Leo could.
“Another witness?”
Anthony looked at her.
“That’s what she said.”
Sofia.
The first witness.
Lily had become the second.
Then Anthony whispered the words that changed everything again.
“Gianni told her not to worry.”
Leo stared at him.
“Why?”
“He said Sterling had already arranged an accident once.”
May you like
Anthony’s voice dropped.
“He could arrange another.”
