Chapter 1 - THE GIRL WHO WOULD NOT STOP KNOCKING

“My mother is under the house.”

The little girl said it so quietly that Adrian Blackwood almost walked past her.

Then she grabbed his hand.

And everything changed.

Adrian stopped in the center of the grand entrance hall.

Rain hammered the windows of Blackwood Manor.

Two security men stood behind him.

His driver was still carrying luggage in from the armored SUV.

His phone had been ringing nonstop since his helicopter landed twenty minutes earlier.

None of that mattered anymore.

Because five-year-old Lily Monroe was standing barefoot on the marble floor in a faded pink nightshirt, staring at him with swollen eyes.

Adrian looked down at her.

“What did you say?”

Lily swallowed.

“My mommy is under the house.”

The words seemed to drain the warmth from the room.

Adrian slowly crouched.

He was forty-one years old.

Six-foot-three.

Broad-shouldered.

Cold-eyed.

A man newspapers called a shipping billionaire and prosecutors privately called something else.

Men feared him.

Competitors avoided saying his name in crowded rooms.

His enemies understood that Adrian Blackwood did not threaten twice.

Yet Lily did not look afraid of him.

She looked desperate.

“Where is your mother?”

“I don’t know.”

“You just said she was under the house.”

Lily wiped her nose with the back of her hand.

“I heard her.”

Adrian’s face changed.

“When?”

“Last night.”

“Where?”

She pointed toward the west side of the mansion.

“The floor.”

Adrian followed her finger.

Beyond the entrance hall was a narrow corridor leading toward the oldest wing of the estate.

That section had been closed for renovations for nearly four months.

Or at least that was what Adrian had been told.

“Who told you your mother left?”

“Mrs. Evelyn.”

Adrian’s jaw tightened.

Evelyn Shaw.

His future mother-in-law.

The woman currently supervising most of the wedding preparations while Adrian’s fiancée traveled between Manhattan and Europe.

“And what did Mrs. Evelyn say?”

“That Mommy stole something.”

Adrian went completely still.

Lily shook her head quickly.

“My mommy doesn’t steal.”

“I know.”

“She said Mommy ran away because police were coming.”

Adrian stared at the little girl.

Her mother, Anna Monroe, had worked at Blackwood Manor for almost four years.

She cleaned.

Organized.

Managed guest rooms.

Handled staff schedules when the house manager was sick.

She was quiet.

Dependable.

Invisible to most of the wealthy people who passed through the manor.

Adrian noticed everything.

Anna had never taken so much as a bottle of wine without logging it.

She once chased a delivery truck down the driveway because the driver had accidentally left an extra case of expensive champagne.

She would not steal.

And she would never abandon Lily.

“How long has she been gone?”

“Four sleeps.”

Adrian’s eyes hardened.

Four days.

He rose.

“Where have you been sleeping?”

“In Mommy’s room.”

“Alone?”

Lily nodded.

Something violent moved behind Adrian’s expression.

He turned toward his security chief.

“Ronan.”

A tall man in a dark suit stepped forward.

“Yes.”

“Where is the house manager?”

“Off property.”

“Why?”

“Emergency leave.”

“Who approved it?”

Ronan hesitated.

“Mr. Mercer.”

Adrian’s face became unreadable.

Julian Mercer.

His chief financial officer.

His closest business partner.

His best friend since they were nineteen.

Adrian looked back at Lily.

“Show me where you heard your mother.”

She immediately took his hand.

Small fingers wrapped around two of his.

Then she led him down the west corridor.

The lights flickered.

Most of the furniture had been covered with white sheets.

Construction tools were stacked against one wall.

Plastic barriers hung across several doorways.

Adrian noticed something immediately.

There was no dust.

No debris.

No smell of fresh plaster.

The renovations had stopped.

Maybe they had never started.

Lily stopped at an old library.

The room had belonged to Adrian’s grandfather.

Floor-to-ceiling shelves covered three walls.

A carved stone fireplace dominated the fourth.

Lily walked toward the center of the room.

Then knelt.

She placed both hands against the dark wooden floor.

“Here.”

Adrian stared down.

“What did you hear?”

“Three knocks.”

She tapped slowly.

Knock.

Knock.

Knock.

Then she waited.

Nothing happened.

Ronan moved beside Adrian.

“Sir.”

Adrian lifted one hand.

Silence.

Everyone stopped breathing.

Ten seconds passed.

Twenty.

Then—

Knock.

Knock.

Knock.

Lily screamed.

“Mommy!”

Adrian dropped to one knee.

He pressed his palm against the floor.

Again.

Three faint knocks rose from beneath the wood.

His eyes lifted toward Ronan.

“Get tools.”

Ronan immediately reached for his radio.

Then Adrian heard footsteps behind them.

A woman appeared in the library doorway.

Elegant.

Silver-haired.

Perfectly dressed despite the late hour.

Evelyn Shaw looked from Adrian to Lily.

Then toward the floor.

For less than one second, panic flashed across her face.

Adrian saw it.

And he never forgot fear.

“Adrian.”

Evelyn smiled carefully.

“You’re home early.”

He slowly stood.

“So I’ve been told.”

Evelyn glanced at Lily.

“That child has been terribly confused since her mother disappeared.”

“Disappeared?”

“Yes.”

“Interesting.”

Adrian stepped closer.

“Because Lily says Anna is beneath my floor.”

Evelyn gave a soft laugh.

“That’s absurd.”

Three knocks sounded beneath them.

The smile vanished from her face.

Nobody spoke.

Adrian looked directly into her eyes.

Then he said one sentence.

“Lock the estate.”

Ronan answered immediately.

“Yes, sir.”

Evelyn’s expression changed.

“Adrian, surely that isn’t necessary.”

He did not look at her.

“Nobody leaves.”

“Staff.”

“Guests.”

“Family.”

He finally turned toward her.

“Especially family.”

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And for the first time since Adrian Blackwood had known her, Evelyn Shaw looked afraid.

Very afraid.