Chapter 17 - THE GALLERY CAMERAThe emergency guardianship document contained signatures from Delacroix and Preston Vasseur.
It described Vivian as Chloe’s closest surviving caregiver.
If Adrian died or became incapacitated, Vivian could seek control of the child and her inheritance.
Adrian stared at the form.
“She planned for me too.”
The life he believed he was building with Vivian had been a structure designed to remove him when convenient.
Police found drafts of a similar document on Vivian’s cloud account.
Some listed Adrian as medically unstable after Sophie’s death.
Others described Chloe as emotionally dependent on Vivian.
She did not need to use them yet.
Control was most effective when prepared before anyone recognized the threat.
Marc continued reviewing gallery-camera archives.
The system stored footage for five years because the building insured rare artwork.
Three months earlier, Sophie entered as a visitor.
She stood before The Blue Garden for nearly an hour.
Vivian arrived unexpectedly.
She saw Sophie from the upper balcony.
Instead of approaching, Vivian telephoned someone.
The exterior camera later showed a gray vehicle following Sophie.
The vehicle belonged to a security company contracted by Rouge Étoile.
Another clip showed Vivian entering the frame-storage room after Sophie hid the hospital bracelet.
Vivian removed the painting’s rear panel.
She found the bracelet.
Then she placed it back.
“Why leave it?” Adrian asked.
Sophie watched the footage.
“Because she wanted to know what I remembered.”
Vivian used the bracelet as a marker.
If it disappeared, Sophie had returned for it.
If police found it, Vivian could argue Sophie planted evidence herself.
The gallery camera also captured the man in the gray coat taking the first DNA samples.
He was identified as Hugo Lemaire, a private investigator working for Vivian.
Police arrested him at a hotel near Orly Airport.
He admitted stealing the samples.
He also admitted following Sophie for three months.
“What were your instructions?” police asked.
“Document everyone she contacted.”
“Did Vivian ask you to harm her?”
“No.”
“Did she ask you to take Chloe?”
Hugo hesitated.
“She asked for the child’s school schedule.”
The police operation shifted from financial investigation to immediate child protection.
Vivian’s known associates were questioned.
Airports, train stations and border points received alerts.
Her face appeared across French news.
Yet she remained hidden.
Sophie watched one broadcast.
The presenter displayed an old photograph of Vivian beside Adrian and Chloe.
They looked like a family.
Sophie felt an unexpected pain.
Vivian’s crimes did not erase the mornings she braided Chloe’s hair or stayed beside her during illness.
Chloe might eventually grieve someone who harmed her.
That grief would be complicated but real.
“Do you hate her?” Chloe asked.
Sophie switched off the television.
“I hate what she did.”
“Do you hate her?”
Sophie answered carefully.
“I don’t know her well enough anymore to know what I feel.”
“I loved her before.”
“You are allowed to remember that.”
Chloe began crying.
“Does that mean I’m bad?”
“No.”
Sophie held her.
“Someone can give you good memories and still do terrible things. Loving the memory does not excuse the harm.”
Adrian listened from the doorway.
He needed those words too.
That evening, Marc discovered a live connection inside the gallery-camera system.
Someone was watching remotely.
He traced the session to the closed Maison Sainte-Cécile property.
Police surrounded the abandoned clinic.
Inside Sophie’s old room, a laptop displayed the Beaumont apartment’s security feed.
Vivian had found them.
May you like
On the wall behind the computer, she had written:
BRING CHLOE TO THE GALLERY AT MIDNIGHT, OR THE TRUTH ABOUT ADRIAN WILL BE RELEASED.
Related Stories
