The moment Karlos put the phone down, the room felt ten degrees colder.
Gone.
The security footage from 10:32 at night until 6:45 in the morning. Nine hours. Completely erased.
Karlos sat very still at the edge of his bed, his jaw tight, his hands gripping his knees. He was not drunk anymore. The shock of Jake's words had chased away every last drop of whiskey from his brain.
Someone had gone into the villa's system and deleted those recordings.
"Who has access to the security system?" he asked Jake over the phone, his voice dangerously quiet.
"Only five people, Sir," Jake said carefully. "You, me, Raymond the driver, Mrs. Lydia... and whoever you granted temporary access to recently."
Karlos already knew the answer before he said it.
"Kate had temporary access," Jake finished. "You added her the week she arrived to help with baby Hope. It was standard, Sir. In case of an emergency with the baby."
