The Blood Beneath the Bar
Chapter 06 - The Blood Beneath the Bar
The blood belonged to Ethan.
DNA testing matched the preserved sample from his autopsy.
Crime-scene technicians removed a section of the marble bar and found more staining beneath the support frame. The pattern suggested Ethan had struck the edge during a struggle.
The penthouse had not belonged to Adrian at the time.
It was an unfinished model residence owned by Veridian’s largest early investor. Adrian had access because he used it for private meetings.
Construction logs revealed an emergency replacement of the bar, flooring, and terrace railing immediately after Ethan disappeared.
The invoice was approved by Charles Cole.
The contractor listed on the invoice did not exist.
Maya obtained a warrant for the building’s archived service records. Security logs showed Ethan entering the penthouse at 9:42 p.m. the night before his boat was found.
Adrian entered at 9:51.
Charles arrived at 10:03.
Nobody logged Ethan leaving.
At 1:17 a.m., a freight elevator traveled from the penthouse to the parking garage using Adrian’s access code.
A black Veridian SUV exited eight minutes later.
The marina camera captured the same SUV near Ethan’s boat.
The evidence did not yet show who caused Ethan’s death.
It showed who moved him.
Adrian’s attorney released a statement claiming Ethan became violent during a confrontation, fell accidentally, and fled before Adrian could help him.
The statement contradicted the service logs and blood cleanup.
It also placed Adrian at the scene.
Grant read it twice.
“He is building self-defense.”
Elena looked toward the removed section of bar.
“He is admitting enough to explain the evidence.”
“Exactly.”
The defense would argue that Ethan attacked Adrian over the investigation, hit the bar, left alive, and later suffered a boating accident.
Maya needed proof that Ethan was incapacitated when removed from the penthouse.
The micro-card provided another clue.
Among its files was a photograph taken automatically at 10:16 p.m. It showed Adrian standing over Ethan while Charles held a white towel against Ethan’s head.
Ethan’s eyes were open.
He was alive.
Behind them, reflected in a window, stood a third person.
A woman in a silver dress.
The image was blurred, but Elena recognized the necklace.
Serena Vale.
Adrian’s chief strategy officer.
The woman he claimed was only a colleague.
The woman who helped organize Elena’s birthday party.
Serena had disappeared before police sealed the penthouse.
Her phone last connected to a tower near a private airport.
Maya issued a national alert.
Elena remembered Serena adjusting the teal dress before the guests arrived.
“You look perfect,” Serena had said.
Now Elena understood.
May you like
Serena had not been checking the fit.
She had been checking whether Elena wore a recording device.
