Chapter 2 - The Silent Suspect
Victoria stared in absolute horror at the gruesome evidence presented before her.
She immediately ordered the security chief, Marcus, to lock down the entire estate.
Nobody was allowed to leave the premises until the police arrived.
Marcus firmly grabbed Leo by the collar of his oversized shirt.
"This little street rat probably stabbed him in the alleyway for revenge," Marcus growled.
Victoria slammed her hand down onto a nearby cocktail table.
"Let go of him right now, Marcus," she commanded with absolute authority.
She knelt down to look into Leo's terrified, tear-filled eyes.
"Did you follow that man outside, Leo?" she asked gently.
Leo shook his head frantically from side to side.
"I went straight to the staff kitchen to clean up the broken glass," the boy sobbed.
Marcus scoffed loudly, clearly not believing a single word the child said.
"We found this bloody apron stuffed behind the dumpsters near the service corridor," Marcus explained.
Victoria carefully examined the name tag pinned to the stained fabric.
It clearly read Leo's name, but something about the situation felt entirely wrong.
A ten-year-old boy could not possibly overpower a grown man, sever his finger, and hide the evidence in fifteen minutes.
"Take the boy to my private study and keep him perfectly safe," Victoria ordered her guards.
She decided to investigate the service corridor herself before the corrupt local police could contaminate the scene.
The hallway was dimly lit and smelled faintly of expensive cigar smoke and copper.
She noticed a strange set of muddy footprints leading away from the kitchen exit.
The footprints were far too large to belong to a small child like Leo.
Suddenly, her expensive high heel stepped on something hard hidden in the shadows.
She bent down and picked up a heavy, silver pocket watch.
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She popped open the engraved lid and gasped out loud.
Inside the watch was a faded photograph of her own deceased father standing next to Leo.
