Chapter 2 - THE ORDER PLACED IN MARIA'S NAME
Maria stopped breathing.
“My account?”
Dmitri placed a tablet in front of her.
Petrov staff used a private ordering system for household purchases.
Her name appeared beside the 7:05 a.m. coffee order.
MARIA ALVAREZ — HOUSEHOLD SERVICE.
One black coffee.
One almond croissant.
One specialty protein packet.
Delivery instructions:
LEAVE WITH EAST SERVICE GATE.
Maria stared.
“I didn’t order anything.”
Dmitri watched her face.
“I believe you.”
That surprised her.
“Why?”
“Because if you intended to hurt Alexei, bringing your four-year-old daughter into the room would be an unusually stupid plan.”
Maria almost laughed.
Almost.
Then:
“Also, you tried to save him.”
“Sophie noticed him.”
“Yes.”
Dmitri sat.
“Someone used your login.”
Maria’s account showed a sign-in at 6:52 a.m.
Device:
House tablet 3.
Location:
Laundry corridor.
Maria remembered that tablet.
Shared by housekeeping.
No password manager.
Her login code was stored automatically.
Anyone on staff could have used it.
Then security video revealed something strange.
At 6:49, House Tablet 3 was sitting on a linen shelf.
At 6:51, the camera feed went black.
At 6:56, video returned.
The tablet remained in the same place.
Five missing minutes.
Someone had disabled the hallway camera.
Dmitri asked:
“Who knows where the camera control panel is?”
“Security.”
“Anyone else?”
“Maintenance.”
His eyes narrowed.
Then Maria thought of something.
“The delivery.”
“What?”
“If someone wanted it to look like I ordered the coffee, why deliver it to the service gate? I wasn’t working there this morning.”
Dmitri became still.
Correct.
Maria had been assigned upstairs.
Whoever placed the order knew her credentials.
But not her schedule.
Or wanted someone else to pick it up.
Security records showed one person retrieving the bag.
Elena Markovic.
Alexei’s executive house manager.
Forty-eight.
Perfectly organized.
Worked for the Petrovs for twelve years.
When questioned, Elena looked genuinely confused.
“The courier said it was for Mr. Petrov.”
“Did you inspect it?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because it was sealed.”
Then Dmitri asked:
“Did Maria ask you to bring it upstairs?”
“No.”
That weakened the attempt to frame Maria.
Unless the person expected investigators to stop at the digital order.
Then the hospital called.
Alexei was awake.
He wanted Dmitri there immediately.
Before leaving, Dmitri turned toward Maria.
“Do not leave the property.”
Fear flashed through her.
“Am I being detained?”
“No.”
“Then why?”
His voice lowered.
“Because whoever did this used your name.”
He glanced at Sophie.
“And if they fail to kill Alexei, they may decide the person they framed is a problem.”
Maria held her daughter tighter.
For nineteen months she had cleaned bedrooms, polished floors, and quietly ignored the dangerous reputation surrounding the Petrov family.
Now that reputation was no longer outside her life.
Someone had placed her directly inside it.
At the hospital, Alexei listened as Dmitri explained the coffee order.
He said almost nothing.
Then he asked one question.
“Maria’s daughter noticed the reaction?”
“Yes.”
“What did she say?”
Dmitri almost smiled.
“She said she was a doctor.”
For the first time since waking, Alexei’s expression softened.
Then:
“Protect them.”
Dmitri nodded.
Alexei looked toward the window.
“And find the courier.”
They did.
The courier had disappeared.
His account was fake.
The vehicle plates were stolen.
But the estate gate camera had captured three seconds of his face.
Dmitri enlarged the image.
Alexei stared.
Then whispered:
“No.”
He knew the man.
May you like
His name was Viktor Sokolov.
And according to Alexei, Viktor had died nine years earlier.
