"You scared her," Jamin mumbled.
Joseph opened his eyes. "She ran because she had something to hide, Jamin. Innocent people don't run."
"She was nice," Jamin insisted, his lower lip trembling. "She held my hand. She felt... real."
Joseph felt a twinge of guilt. He sighed and motioned for his son to come closer. Jamin hopped off the chair and walked over. Joseph placed a hand on the boy's head.
"Listen to me. There are people in this world who will use you to get to me. That woman... she knew who you were. She was playing a game."
"No!" Jamin stomped his foot. "She didn't know! She didn't even know my name until the guards yelled it! She didn't care about the black card either!"
Joseph frowned. That didn't fit the profile of a gold digger. "Kieran."
"Sir."
"The security footage. I want her face. Now."
Kieran tapped on his tablet. He swiped a few times, then frowned. He tapped harder. "Sir..."
"What?"
"The footage from the lobby, the elevator, and the hallway... it's gone."
Joseph sat up straight, ignoring the throb in his head. "Gone?"
"Corrupted. All of it. From exactly 3:00 PM to 3:15 PM. Someone wiped the servers."
Joseph's eyes narrowed. A random doctor couldn't wipe hospital servers. This was professional. High-level.
"It's a corporate espionage team," Joseph concluded, his voice turning cold. "She was a plant. Someone sent her to get close to Jamin, maybe to get a DNA sample or plant a bug."
He looked at Jamin. "See? She wasn't a doctor. She was a spy."
Jamin crossed his arms. "I don't believe you."
Meanwhile, at the Hines Estate.
Giselle walked into the living room and collapsed onto the velvet sofa. Her legs felt like jelly.
Silas was at his computer station, three monitors glowing blue in the dim light. He spun around in his chair. "Done. I scrubbed the hospital feeds. You're a ghost."
"Thank you," she breathed.
Kordell handed her a glass of red wine. "This is getting too close, Elle. Maybe we should just buy Villarreal Corp and dismantle it. Save you the trouble."
Giselle took a sip of the wine, the rich liquid settling her nerves. "No. I don't want to destroy him. I just want to be left alone."
"He saw you?" Silas asked.
"He saw my back. He heard my voice." She rubbed her temples. "But the worst part... was the boy."
"The son?" Kordell asked.
"Jamin," she said. "He's... he's sweet. He's smart. And he thinks he doesn't have a mother."
She looked at Silas. "Can you pull his birth certificate? I need to know. Is Clydie really his mother?"
Silas turned back to the screens. His fingers flew across the mechanical keyboard. "Easy. Accessing state records... wait."
He stopped typing. A red lock icon flashed on the screen.
"What?" Giselle asked, leaning forward.
"It's sealed," Silas said, sounding impressed. "It's not just sealed. It's stored in the Villarreal private medical archives. It's air-gapped and protected by a triple-layer biometric lock. Only Joseph or the attending physician can open it."
"Why would a child's birth certificate be hidden like nuclear codes?" she whispered.
"Because," Kordell said, his face grim, "Joseph Villarreal is hiding something massive. Something he doesn't want anyone-especially Clydie-to know."
Giselle's mind raced. If Clydie wasn't the mother... then who was?
---
