Chapter 2 - The Man in the ReflectionMarcus didn't move.
For several seconds, the security room was completely silent.
Then he replayed the footage.
Again.
And again.
The man's face remained barely visible in the reflection.
But once Marcus knew what he was looking for, he couldn't unsee it.
His father.
Richard Cole.
Officially dead for eleven years.
Dead from a heart attack in London.
Funeral held in New York.
Buried at Greenwood Cemetery.
Marcus had attended.
So had his mother.
So had half the city's business elite.
Yet there he was.
Standing behind Vanessa.
Alive.
Or at least someone who looked exactly like him.
Marcus walked toward the monitor.
“Enhance the reflection.”
The system processed the image.
The face sharpened slightly.
I watched Marcus's jaw tighten.
Then he whispered:
“Dad.”
Lily nodded.
“I told you.”
Marcus looked at her.
“How did you know?”
She shrugged.
“He looks like your picture.”
I glanced at Marcus.
“You have a picture of your father?”
“Every room in this house has one.”
Lily nodded.
“I saw him.”
“When?”
She pointed toward the ceiling.
“Yesterday.”
My skin prickled.
“Where?”
“Outside Grandma's room.”
Marcus immediately stood.
“Your mother?”
“Yes.”
“Did he go inside?”
Lily shook her head.
“He looked at her.”
“Did she see him?”
“I don't know.”
Marcus grabbed his phone.
“Call my mother's physician.”
Then he stopped.
“No.”
He looked at me.
“Get Marta.”
I found Marta in the kitchen.
She was sixty-two, sharp-eyed, and had run the household for twenty years.
When Marcus asked about Vanessa, she crossed herself unconsciously.
“What happened?”
“Did you see Vanessa yesterday?”
“Yes.”
“Where?”
“The east wing.”
“Doing what?”
Marta hesitated.
“Talking to someone.”
“Who?”
“A man.”
Marcus's expression hardened.
“Describe him.”
“Tall. Gray hair. Expensive coat.”
“Did you recognize him?”
Marta looked directly at Marcus.
“I thought he was your father.”
The room went silent.
Marcus walked away.
I followed.
“Sir.”
He stopped.
“You believe me?”
“I believe you saw something.”
“That's enough.”
He looked toward the staircase.
“Because if my father is alive, everything I know about my company is wrong.”
Then his phone rang.
He answered.
A voice spoke.
Marcus's face changed.
“Where?”
Pause.
“Keep her there.”
He hung up.
“My mother is missing.”
My heart dropped.
“What?”
“She was supposed to have breakfast at nine.”
“It's almost eleven.”
“I know.”
He looked at me.
“Vanessa disappeared twenty minutes ago.”
Then Lily whispered:
“Grandma is in the garden.”
Marcus looked down.
“What?”
Lily pointed toward the east windows.
“The locked garden.”
I knew the place.
Everyone did.
The greenhouse behind the stone wall.
The one place in the estate nobody was allowed to enter.
Not even staff.
Marcus stared at Lily.
“How do you know?”
“She told me.”
“Who?”
May you like
Lily pointed toward the window.
“The dead man.”
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