Chapter 2
The camera was not the only thing Victor had changed.
Daniel pulled three months of estate security records.
Every major Moretti gathering had a standard staffing plan.
Two guards near the main gate.
Two at the house.
One walking the pool perimeter.
One rotating through the rear lawn and garden.
On five of the seven dates Emma identified, the rear-lawn patrol had been reassigned shortly before Gabriel entered his study.
Reason:
Family privacy request.
Authorized by Victor.
Gabriel stared at the log.
“What authority does he have over my estate security?”
“Temporary event authority.”
“Why?”
Daniel looked uncomfortable.
“Because you gave it to him.”
Gabriel remembered.
Six months earlier, Daniel underwent surgery.
Victor offered to help coordinate family events until he returned.
Gabriel signed a temporary delegation.
It should have expired after eight weeks.
Nobody terminated it in the system.
Victor kept using it.
Laura asked:
“Did he hire anyone?”
Daniel nodded.
“Supplemental security.”
“What company?”
“Vantage Protective Services.”
Gabriel knew it.
Victor owned forty percent.
His childhood friend, Scott Mercer, owned the rest.
The company handled legitimate executive-security and event work.
Gabriel had used it occasionally when the regular Moretti estate team needed extra personnel.
Laura asked:
“Were Vantage guards working today?”
Daniel checked.
“According to the invoice, yes.”
Gabriel looked toward the empty lawn.
“How many?”
“Four.”
“Where were they?”
Daniel became quiet.
Gabriel already knew the answer.
“No Vantage guards checked through the main gate.”
“No.”
“Any employee badge scans?”
“No.”
“Vehicle entries?”
“No.”
“Then what exactly are we paying for?”
Daniel turned the tablet.
Today’s estimated charge:
$9,600.
Description:
Supplemental child-perimeter coverage and behavioral safety support.
Gabriel read it twice.
“Behavioral what?”
Daniel shook his head.
“I’ve never seen that description before.”
Laura looked toward Noah and Emma inside the house.
“Check the other dates.”
They did.
Each date Emma remembered Victor disciplining Noah had a matching Vantage invoice.
Amounts ranging from $6,000 to nearly $11,000.
Descriptions varied.
Enhanced family-zone security.
Minor protection support.
Behavioral perimeter control.
Specialized youth safety coverage.
Gabriel felt the problem widen.
His son had been physically restrained during the exact events when Victor’s company was billing thousands of dollars for supposedly protecting him.
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That was clue number two.
Noah’s fear and Vantage’s invoices followed the same calendar.
