Chapter 535 - 131 Lila in Ruins

Chapter 535: Chapter 131 Lila in Ruins

Daniel’s POV

The days crawled by as I waited for word from Beckett. My patience was wearing dangerously thin, and every instinct honed by years in both the Thorne organization and the police force told me something significant was brewing. According to our intelligence network, Gideon would be visiting Aria soon, and I was desperate for any information that might surface from that meeting within the family’s inner circle.

When my encrypted phone finally buzzed with Beckett’s contact code, I grabbed it instantly. "Beckett! I was just thinking about you."

"Daniel, what a week it’s been," he said, his voice carrying the exhaustion of someone who’d been managing multiple family crises. "I’ve been dealing with one emergency after another, including breaking up an actual fistfight between two of our people."

"A fistfight?" I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Violence within the family ranks was serious business.

Beckett chuckled, though there was an edge to it. "I’ll forward you the security footage from our surveillance system. The cameras caught everything. Lila might not appreciate me sharing it, but you’ll get a kick out of seeing what happened. I should be furious about the breach of family protocol, but honestly, it was too entertaining. But listen, I need to ask for a favor that requires your police connections."

"What do you need?" I asked, my curiosity about the fight mixing with concern about what kind of favor required my law enforcement resources.

"Katarina’s heading your way with sensitive materials. She’ll be stopping by the precinct with boxes from the deceased maid’s storage unit, plus that DNA sample we discussed for our investigation into the family matter. Could you escort her to the laboratory using your official capacity?" The request caught me off guard, but I understood the delicate nature of what we were dealing with.

"Of course I can handle that. She mentioned she’d obtain that sample, but I’m dying to know how she managed to pull it off without arousing suspicion." I couldn’t imagine the lengths she’d gone to within the heavily monitored family compound.

Beckett laughed heartily, the sound carrying hints of both admiration and exhaustion. "My friend, all hell broke loose in the family estate, just as I predicted it would. Watch the video I’m sending through our secure channel. You’ll understand everything once you see who was involved." His tone suggested that the altercation involved people whose participation would surprise me. "By the way, you’ll need a doctor’s authorization for the official testing. Can you arrange that through your contacts?"

"Yes, that won’t be a problem. I have a trusted physician who handles sensitive cases for the department. Did the storage unit yield anything useful for our investigation?" My investigative instincts were kicking into high gear, sensing we were close to a breakthrough.

"We searched it yesterday afternoon, but the sheer volume of materials made it impossible to examine everything on-site. Security concerns meant we had to bring it all back to the estate, but my father was lurking around suspiciously all evening, almost like his old instincts sensed something was happening. Lucinda didn’t want to waste any time or risk discovery, so she loaded everything into her vehicle at dawn and hit the road before anyone else was awake," Beckett explained, his tactical planning evident even in family matters.

"I’m beyond curious now about what we might find," I admitted, and he agreed we both were eager for answers. We arranged to speak later about the contents of the storage boxes once they’d been properly examined, said our goodbyes using our usual coded farewell, and I returned to my case reports while waiting for Katarina’s arrival.

Time slipped away as I worked through the endless paperwork that came with maintaining my cover as a legitimate police inspector. A sharp knock at my office door pulled me from my concentration on a money laundering case. "Come in," I called out.

Inspector Adler entered with his characteristic smile, escorting a familiar and elegant figure. "Hey handsome, look who I found in the lobby asking specifically for you," he announced cheerfully, clearly impressed by his distinguished visitor.

"Inspector Adler has been quite the perfect gentleman," Katarina remarked, offering him one of those gracious smiles that made her so effective in high society circles.

"This remarkable lady is my sister-in-law, Adler," I explained to my colleague. "She’s married to Lila’s brother and part of one of the city’s most prominent families."

"Yes, she mentioned her connection to the Sullivan family," Adler nodded respectfully. "She was kind enough to take photographs with my daughters when my wife dropped me off."

"Your daughters were here at the precinct?" I asked, surprised by this breach of our usual security protocols.

"No, my wife was waiting in the car since my vehicle is in the shop for repairs. The girls were with her and recognized Mrs. Barrett from society magazines. You know how teenagers can be when they spot someone from the high-society pages—completely star-struck. Katarina was gracious enough to indulge their excitement," Adler explained with paternal pride.

I laughed, remembering a recent encounter that seemed a lifetime ago now. "You should have seen Zoe fawning over Katarina recently at the family gathering. She was acting like a teenager herself, completely forgetting her usual sophisticated composure." Adler joined my laughter before excusing himself. "Please, have a seat, Katarina. I’ve been expecting you and everything is arranged."

"I should get moving. I’m already running late for my next appointment," Adler said, politely bidding Katarina farewell with the respect due to someone of her family standing before departing.

"Daniel, I’m eager to examine those storage boxes properly, but I’m also anxious to get to the laboratory immediately," Katarina said, rubbing her hands together in anticipation, her usual composed demeanor showing cracks of excitement about what we might discover.

"That makes two of us. I just need to call the doctor who’ll provide the official authorization for the testing, and we’ll need to stop by my apartment to collect Lila’s comparison samples," I explained, reaching for my secure phone. "Dr. Taylor! How are things in your world?" I greeted warmly when the call connected. After exchanging the usual pleasantries required for maintaining our professional relationship, I carefully laid out our situation in terms that wouldn’t compromise anyone involved. Andrew was both discreet and trustworthy—exactly what our delicate investigation required. He offered to meet us at the hospital personally, and I thanked him profusely before ending the call. "We’re all set. We have access to a completely trusted laboratory for the testing. Will you be taking a duplicate sample to the other laboratory as well?"

"Absolutely. I’m convinced someone there falsified the previous test results, and I fully intend to find out exactly who was responsible," Katarina replied, her intelligence and perceptiveness impressing me once again with their sharpness.

We left the police station in my official vehicle after transferring the two storage boxes to my trunk with appropriate care for their potential evidentiary value. We stopped by my secure apartment building to collect Lila’s carefully preserved samples, then headed to the hospital where Dr. Taylor was waiting. He proved incredibly helpful and professional, promising to expedite the results while maintaining complete confidentiality. He was visibly shocked by our account of Lila’s ordeal at the hands of her adoptive mother, his medical ethics clearly disturbed by the implications. From there, we proceeded to the second laboratory where Katarina had already made contact. The director was waiting for us in the lobby, his anxiety palpable.

"Thank you for seeing us on such short notice," Katarina greeted him with practiced charm.

"It’s absolutely my pleasure, though I sincerely hope your suspicions about our previous results prove to be unfounded," he replied, his professional reputation clearly weighing heavily on his mind. "If that test was indeed tampered with, we’re looking at a serious credibility crisis that could destroy everything we’ve built here. We’d have to rerun every single test from that entire day." He led us to his private office and began preparing the necessary paperwork with meticulous attention to detail.

"How will you ensure absolute integrity this time around?" Katarina questioned with the authority of someone accustomed to managing complex family affairs. "If the samples are identifiable in any way, they could potentially be compromised again." She was taking complete charge of the situation while I observed her natural command.

"We’ll use our highest security protocol with registration numbers and complete pseudonyms," he explained professionally. "The results will come directly to me personally, bypassing all normal channels. We use this protocol for clients requiring absolute confidentiality, so it won’t raise any red flags among our staff members. Results will be available within a few weeks—I’m afraid I cannot expedite the process any further without compromising accuracy."

"That timeline is perfectly acceptable for our purposes," Katarina agreed, and we proceeded with the testing procedures. After saying goodbye to the director and ensuring all protocols were properly established, we left the laboratory facility.

"Daniel, would you mind taking me somewhere else before we examine those boxes? I brought a special gift for Zoe, and I’d love to give it to her personally," Katarina asked as we settled back into my car, her request surprising me with its thoughtful nature.

"Of course! That girl will be absolutely thrilled by the attention. Let’s pick up our little firecracker and grab some lunch together, what do you say?"

"Perfect. I can simply say I was in town handling family business and we ran into each other by coincidence," Katarina suggested, her quick thinking about maintaining proper appearances impressing me once again.

We drove through the city to Lila’s workplace, but her desk was conspicuously empty when we arrived at the Thorne Group offices, immediately triggering my protective instincts.

"Ah, so you’ve heard the news already," Caleb said, emerging from his executive office while running a hand through his hair in obvious distress.

"Heard what exactly?" I asked, alarm bells suddenly ringing loudly in my head as every protective instinct I possessed went into overdrive. "Where’s Lila right now?"

"She’s in the employee break room. Follow me immediately." Caleb hastily greeted Katarina with appropriate respect before leading us quickly down the hallway, his urgency making my blood run cold.

What I saw when we reached the break room completely crushed me. Lila was huddled in a corner chair, sobbing uncontrollably with a desperation I’d never witnessed from her before. Her arms were covered in angry red scratches, her beautiful hair was a tangled mess, and her professional clothes were dirty and rumpled as if she’d been in some kind of physical altercation. I had absolutely no idea what had happened to reduce my strong, beautiful Lila to this broken state, but in that moment, I knew with absolute certainty that I would systematically destroy whoever had dared to harm her.