Chapter 3 - The Access Card Anomaly
Grace sat rigidly in the leather chair across from Adrian’s desk.
She had left Lily watching a movie in their private quarters.
Her hands were folded tightly in her lap.
“You asked to see me, Mr. Moretti?”
Adrian poured two cups of coffee and handed her one.
“Drink. You look like you’re about to pass out.”
Grace took the cup with trembling hands. “Thank you.”
“I need you to think very carefully, Grace,” Adrian said, sitting down.
“Have you noticed anything unusual about Veronica lately?”
Grace hesitated, her eyes darting to the door.
“I... I don't like to speak out of turn, sir.”
“This is not out of turn. This is an order.”
Grace took a deep breath.
“Ms. Sterling has been making changes. Small ones.”
“What kind of changes?”
“Schedules,” Grace said. “She changed the shifts of the night security staff last week.”
Adrian frowned. “She doesn't have the authority to do that.”
“She told them it was a direct order from you, sir.”
Adrian leaned forward. “What else?”
“She fired two of the older maids. The ones who cleaned your private office.”
“When?”
“Tuesday.”
“And who replaced them?”
“No one,” Grace whispered. “Ms. Sterling said she would handle the cleaning of your office herself.”
Adrian’s eyes narrowed.
His private office was where he kept the physical ledgers of his offshore accounts.
“She’s been in my office.”
“I’ve seen her go in there late at night,” Grace admitted.
“I thought you knew. I thought she had your permission.”
“She absolutely did not.”
Adrian pulled up the security logs Marcus had left him.
He filtered the search to his private office door.
Zero entries found.
“The logs show no one has entered my office except me,” Adrian said.
“She must be bypassing the digital lock,” Grace suggested softly.
“How?”
“I found a master keycard on the kitchen counter two days ago.”
Grace looked down at her coffee cup.
“I gave it to Ms. Sterling because I thought she dropped it. It looked different from our regular staff cards.”
Adrian’s blood boiled, but he kept his expression perfectly neutral.
A master keycard bypasses the digital log system entirely.
“You did the right thing telling me this, Grace.”
“Is someone trying to hurt you, Mr. Moretti?”
“Someone is trying to bury me,” Adrian corrected.
“And they are doing it from inside my own home.”
He stood up, signaling the end of the conversation.
“Act entirely normal. Serve dinner as usual.”
“But the glass—”
“I will handle the glass,” Adrian said.
“If Veronica asks, Lily was playing near the table and accidentally knocked it over. You replaced it.”
Grace nodded slowly, understanding the cover story.
“Yes, sir.”
“And Grace?”
May you like
She paused at the door.
“Keep Lily close.”
