Page 131 of Claim

“Um, sure. I can go look. Where am I going?” I pat my leg to make Hades follow me.

Mikhail might have pissed me off when he left, but I’m not going anywhere without the dog now.

“There’s a camera in the hall and another in an office area. Neither registered any movements when Galena was taken, but I can’t see why.” His voice sounds distant over the ticking of his keys.

I grab the spare set of keys from the wall and use them to open the smaller house.

I don’t know what she was complaining about, this place is still ten times bigger than the tiny apartment I lived in with my mother for years.

“Okay, where am I going?” I wander through the living room to find the only hall near the kitchen.

“Yea, I got you on the feed. Take that right, and look up towards the end. You should see the camera up on the wall.”

Following his directions, I step around the corner and can see something up near the ceiling.

“Wait!” he yells. “Where did you go?”

“I’m in the hall, like you told me to be. There’s something stuck up there. Like, a piece of paper.” I can see it taped over the lens.

“Fuck.” His exhale whispers over the speaker. “You disappeared as soon as you would have come into this view. Okay, check the office too, please.”

“Come on Hades.” I step through a closed door, but don’t see anything really amiss. “What am I supposed to be looking at?” I ask Enzo.

“There’s another camera above the desk. It’s hidden though in the smoke alarm. Can you send me a picture of it?”

I can’t really see anything wrong with it, but I send the photo.

“Damn it,” he groans. “They swapped it.”

“Who?” I have a hard time believing Zoya did this.

“There was this one angle when Galena was being taken. It looked like she was smiling up at the guy. I didn’t think anythingof it at first. See if you can find anything else?” He clicks off the line.

What is going on?

Rifling through the papers on the desk, I find a small stack of letters bundled in the back.

They’re all addressed to Zoya, and show crease marks like they’ve been folded tightly.

When I open the first one, I almost drop it.

All I can focus on is the signature.

Ivan.

Scrambling, I redial Enzo.

“What did you find?” he asks calmly.

“She’s working with him!” I shriek.

Fumbling through the pile, I find one of the older ones from before she left Russia.

—I’m so glad my housekeeper moved next door and found you. Getting to reunite with my daughter has been everything I had hoped.

I’ve foundSergy’s daughter. I know by taking her, we’ll be able to draw Mikhail back to Russia.

Once he’s gone, I’ll be able to give you anything you desire?—

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