Chapter 1 - The Bear in the Ballroom
Daniel knelt on the cold marble floor of the grand ballroom.
He completely ignored the gasps of the wealthy guests watching him.
His eyes were fixed solely on the battered brown teddy bear in the little girl's arms.
Grace instinctively pulled her daughter closer, her eyes wide with panic.
"Please, Mr. Whitfield, I'll leave right now," Grace whispered frantically.
Daniel did not stand up.
"Where did you get this bear?" Daniel asked, his voice low and trembling.
"It was her father's," Grace replied, her voice breaking slightly.
"My late husband gave it to her before he passed away."
Daniel's heart hammered violently against his ribs.
Marcus Bennett was not just an employee.
Marcus had saved Daniel's life during a catastrophic warehouse fire seven years ago.
Marcus had died so Daniel could live.
Daniel reached out and gently touched the blue-threaded star patch on the bear's foot.
He pressed his thumb against the center of the star.
There was something hard and rectangular hidden beneath the worn fabric.
"Daniel, stop making a spectacle of yourself and fire this woman," Diana hissed from the stairs.
Daniel stood up and glared at his sister-in-law with absolute fury.
"Grace is not fired, and she is coming with me to my private study right now," Daniel commanded.
He grabbed Grace's hand and led her through the parting crowd of shocked billionaires.
They reached the heavy oak doors of his study and locked them from the inside.
Daniel grabbed a silver letter opener from his desk.
"I need to cut a tiny hole in Maya's bear," Daniel said urgently.
Grace looked terrified but slowly nodded her head.
Daniel sliced the thread and pulled out a small, black micro-SD card.
He immediately plugged it into his secure laptop.
The screen flashed red with a restricted access warning before a video file suddenly opened.
It was Marcus Bennett, looking exhausted and terrified, staring directly into the camera.
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"If you are watching this, Daniel, it means your brother Robert murdered me," Marcus said on the screen.
Before Daniel could even process the horrifying words, the heavy oak doors of the study violently shattered inward.
