Gate opened.
“Who has that code?”
“Senior security staff.”
“How many?”
“Five.”
“Harold?”
“He has administrative access.”
Marcus nodded.
“Keep going.”
Then the recording skipped.
2:48 became 3:11.
Twenty-three minutes.
Daniel frowned.
“That shouldn't happen.”
They checked another night.
Same gap.
Twenty-three minutes.
Another date.
Different time.
Same exact length.
Marcus looked at the investigator.
“That’s deliberate.”
Daniel looked pale.
“Can somebody erase footage?”
“Someone with administrative control can edit retention markers.”
Marcus turned.
“Who installed the system?”
“Vantage Shield.”
Margaret’s notebook.
Marcus felt everything tighten.
“Who owns Vantage Shield?”
Daniel hesitated.
“A holding company.”
“Which?”
“Vance Security Holdings used to own part.”
Eleanor stared.
“Harold?”
“His family.”
Marcus stood.
“Where is the physical server?”
Daniel looked toward the locked interior door.
“Back room.”
“Who has access?”
“Harold and me.”
“Open it.”
Daniel did.
The rack appeared intact.
But one storage unit had been removed.
Daniel stared at the empty slot.
“That was there Friday.”
Marcus photographed everything.
Then a voice came from behind them.
“You should leave that alone.”
Harold stood in the doorway.
He looked exhausted.
Not angry.
Afraid.
Marcus faced him.
“Where’s the drive?”
Harold closed the door.
“You don't understand what you’re looking at.”
“Then explain.”
Harold looked toward Eleanor.
Then Daniel.
Finally:
“I didn’t build Bellwood.”
“No one said you did.”
“My father did.”
Marcus waited.
Harold sat.
“When Bellwood started, it wasn’t only a housing development.”
Eleanor crossed her arms.
“What was it?”
“A network.”
“For what?”
Harold looked at the monitors.
“Information.”
Chapter Five: The Real Value of Bellwood
Bellwood attracted powerful people almost from the beginning.
Business owners.
Lawyers.
Investment managers.
Political donors.
Contractors.
Regional executives.
Developers.
Harold’s father realized something important long before data companies made billions from the same idea.
Information about wealthy people was often worth more than the land they lived on.
At first, Bellwood collected ordinary information.
Ownership records.
Business affiliations.
Investments.
Professional connections.
Then it expanded.
Private disputes.
Divorces.
Debt.
Affairs.
Lawsuits.
Substance problems.
Financial pressure.
Anything potentially useful.
Eleanor stared at Harold.
“You're talking about blackmail.”
Harold shook his head.
“My father called it leverage.”
Marcus answered:
“That’s what people call blackmail when they want to keep wearing suits.”
Harold looked away.
“The camera system came later.”
“Vantage Shield?”