Chapter 5
Sebastian’s lieutenant sent one final message. The photograph had not come from Malcolm’s files.
It had come from inside the hospice.
Someone under Audrey’s roof was feeding Malcolm pieces of Catherine’s last days. And whoever it was had just proven they were still close enough to watch them.
Sebastian did not search the hospice. That was the first thing Audrey noticed.
Twenty-four hours earlier, he would have locked every door, taken every phone, and treated every frightened employee like a suspect. Instead, he walked into the dining room and asked Audrey to gather everyone for breakfast.
No accusations. No armed men. Just coffee, eggs, and twelve employees trying not to stare at the mafia boss standing beside the windows.
Sebastian already had a strategy. Malcolm believed someone inside could feed him information. Sebastian intended to make that access expensive without frightening the people Audrey protected.
He gave three different harmless relocation times to three different staff groups. Whichever time appeared outside would identify the leak.
Audrey understood immediately. “You are using them without telling them.”
“I am protecting them without accusing them.”
The distinction did not satisfy her. But before she could answer, a young maintenance worker named Luis dropped his coffee. His face had gone white.
Audrey saw it first. She crossed the room before Sebastian moved.
“Luis. Look at me.”
The young man began shaking. Sebastian’s attention sharpened. He knew guilt when he saw it.
Luis confessed before anyone threatened him. Malcolm’s people had approached him weeks earlier. His mother was behind on rent. They offered money for photographs of Catherine’s old visitor records. Luis had believed Catherine was simply another former resident. Then Malcolm wanted more—schedules, names, anything involving Audrey.
Sebastian’s old instinct returned with perfect clarity. Remove the weakness. Close the breach. Make an example large enough that no second breach appears.
Luis looked at him and understood exactly who was deciding his future.
Audrey stepped between them. “He stays.”
Sebastian’s voice cooled. “He endangered everyone here.”
“And now he can tell Malcolm exactly what Malcolm expects to hear.”
Sebastian looked at her. Audrey was not protecting Luis from consequences. She was turning his mistake into a move. That fascinated Sebastian more than he wanted it to.
By afternoon, Malcolm received false confirmation that Audrey planned to move the seven residents through the rear entrance at nine that night. No residents moved. Instead, Sebastian’s people quietly photographed the men who arrived to watch the alley.
One of them worked for a city contractor. Malcolm publicly denied knowing him.
It was enough to weaken Malcolm’s next move. Not enough to end him.
Sebastian hated unfinished victories. Audrey seemed almost relieved by them.
That evening, the hospice finally became quiet. Sebastian found her alone in the chapel, sitting in the last row with her shoes beside her feet. For once, she looked exhausted enough not to hide it.
He sat beside her. Not too close.
Audrey glanced at him. “Luis still has a job.”
“He made a mistake.”
“Yesterday, that sentence would not have sounded like you.”
Sebastian looked toward the dark stained glass. “Yesterday was expensive.”
Audrey understood he was not talking about money.
Silence settled between them. Then her head lowered briefly against his shoulder. Sebastian stopped breathing. She seemed to realize what she had done and started to move.
He did not hold her there. He simply remained still.
Audrey stayed for perhaps thirty seconds.
Sebastian Ror discovered that being needed could feel quieter than being obeyed.
Then his phone vibrated. He ignored it. It vibrated again. Audrey lifted her head.
“You should answer.”
Sebastian almost said no. That frightened him more than the call.
He checked the screen. A photograph filled it. Audrey and Catherine outside the hospice three days before Catherine died. This time there was another image beneath it. Audrey handing Catherine a set of car keys.
Sebastian’s chest tightened.
May you like
Then came Malcolm’s message.
Ask your wife where Catherine drove that night.
