Kalista noticed Thatcher’s first question at the hospital. / Chapter 13 / 50

Chapter 13 - The Missing CameraBy noon, Sterling had already begun rewriting history.

The first photographs appeared online shortly after eleven.

One showed him lying on the hotel floor, blood on his chin.

Another showed Thatcher leaving the hospital with his injured hand wrapped in thick white bandages.

A third showed Kalista standing over her husband, her expression cold and unrecognizable to anyone who hadn't witnessed the violence that preceded it.

The accompanying headline was devastating.

WEALTHY BRIDE ATTACKS HUSBAND AND FATHER-IN-LAW HOURS AFTER LAVISH WEDDING.

Kalista stared at the article on Marcus's tablet.

“Interesting,” she said.

Marcus looked exhausted.

“What's interesting?”

“They have photographs of both men. But not one photograph of Lenora.”

Sterling had turned the two men who committed the assaults into victims.

And the woman who had tried to protect his wife had become the villain.

“He's using the same public relations firm that handled the scandal involving his construction division three years ago,” Marcus explained. “They've contacted every major business publication.”

“Can we stop them?”

“We can challenge specific false statements, but fighting every article will distract us from the case.”

Kalista nodded.

“Then we focus on evidence.”

Across the room, Lenora sat on the sofa with a blanket over her knees.

She had been quiet during the discussion.

Now she spoke.

“The private cameras.”

Marcus turned toward her.

“What do you know about them?”

“Sterling didn't trust hotel security. Whenever he hosted a major event, he hired an outside security contractor.”

“Do you remember the company?”

“Blackwood Protective Services.”

Marcus immediately began typing.

Lenora continued.

“They installed their own cameras in the reception areas. Sterling said it was to protect the family from threats.”

Kalista understood the irony.

The man who feared being watched had built his own surveillance system.

“Would Blackwood have recorded the foyer?” Marcus asked.

“There was a camera concealed above the entrance to the private elevators. I remember because Sterling complained that the first installation was too obvious.”

Marcus made another note.

“If the footage still exists, we can demand that it be preserved.”

Kalista's expression sharpened.

“Do it.”

But Lenora wasn't finished.

“Sterling also insisted that Blackwood retain a remote backup. He didn't want hotel employees controlling his recordings.”

Marcus looked up.

A slow smile appeared on his face.

“He may have made a very expensive mistake.”

Twenty minutes later, Marcus sent preservation notices to Blackwood Protective Services, the Grand Plaza Hotel, and every company responsible for managing the reception footage.

By two o'clock, Sterling's attorneys had received copies.

By three, Kalista's legal team had obtained a court order requiring the relevant recordings and access logs to be preserved while the parties fought over production.

It was not a victory.

Not yet.

But Sterling could no longer treat the missing footage as something he could erase without consequences.

Then Marcus received an unexpected call.

The caller was Evelyn Price, a senior security supervisor at the Grand Plaza Hotel.

She requested a private meeting.

Not at the hotel.

Not at Kalista's office.

At a small conference room in Marcus's law firm.

When Evelyn arrived, she looked as though she hadn't slept.

“I need to make something clear,” she said, sitting opposite Kalista.

“I've worked at the Grand Plaza for fourteen years. I'm not interested in anyone's family dispute.”

“Neither am I,” Kalista replied. “I'm interested in what happened to Lenora.”

Evelyn studied her for a long moment.

Then she placed a sealed envelope on the table.

“After the ambulance arrived, Sterling's security director asked our technical staff to disable access to several cameras.”

Marcus leaned forward.

“Who gave that instruction?”

“Mr. Sterling's representative.”

“Do you have documentation?”

Evelyn nodded.

“An email. And the access logs.”

Kalista felt her heartbeat quicken.

“Was anything deleted?”

“Someone attempted to remove the foyer footage from the hotel's local recording system.”

“Attempted?”

Evelyn took a breath.

“Our system retains an independent incident archive whenever an emergency alarm is activated.”

Kalista remembered the sound of Aunt Coraline's glass shattering.

And then the hotel staff rushing toward the foyer.

“Someone activated an alarm?”

“Yes. A member of the hotel security team pressed the emergency assistance button after seeing Lenora fall.”

Evelyn looked directly at Kalista.

“The incident archive includes the minutes before the alarm.”

Marcus went completely still.

“Are you saying the footage survived?”

“I'm saying the original recording is preserved, with the access history intact. The court order will allow it to be reviewed through the proper process.”

Kalista closed her eyes for a moment.

For the first time since her wedding, she felt the crushing weight on her chest begin to loosen.

But Evelyn's next words prevented her from celebrating.

“There's something else.”

Kalista opened her eyes.

“What?”

“Sterling wasn't the only person who contacted the hotel after the police left.”

“Who else?”