Queen of Wild Cards novel Chapter 237

Meanwhile, the subject of Julius and Stella's investigation, Gideon Kaye, had just returned to his safe house after leaving the Blackwood Group.

Sitting on the sofa in his room, he finally had a moment to think.

When he had returned the night before, he could have sworn he saw a shadow behind the curtains.

But after that... his memory was completely blank.

Had there actually been someone there, or was he losing his mind?

When he woke up this morning, he received the call from Julius's assistant and had been entirely consumed with preparing for the meeting. He hadn't had time to dwell on last night's anomaly.

He stood up and headed downstairs to interrogate the night guards.

"Did anyone suspicious approach the perimeter before or after I got back last night?"

One of the guards shook his head. "No, Mr. Kaye. No one came near the property."

"Did you hear any unusual noises?"

The second guard spoke up. "Well, sir, after you went upstairs, I thought I heard you talking to someone. I came up to check, but I must have misheard, because when I looked in, you were already asleep in bed."

Gideon frowned, his unease growing. "Come with me. We're checking the security feeds."

"Do you think there was an intruder, sir?"

"I can't say for sure. But I have absolutely no memory of anything that happened after I walked into my room." It was better to be paranoid than dead.

The three men entered the security room and pulled up the playback from the previous night.

They watched hours of footage. Nothing. Not a single glitch or shadow.

He sighed, rubbing his temples. "Keep your eyes peeled. Double the patrols. If anyone gets too close to this property, detain them immediately."

"Yes, sir!" the guards responded in unison.

This was the perfect time. Chloe had to be awake by now.

Plus, they would be getting ready for lunch soon. What better way to ruin Miranda and Chloe's appetites than by crashing their quiet weekend?

Just as she suspected, the butler was already setting the dining table when she walked in.

Chloe and Miranda were lounging in the living room, chatting. Frederick was nowhere to be seen—likely hiding out at the office.

Ever since his recent near-bankruptcy scare, he spent his weekends holed up at the company, terrified of losing everything.

Unsurprisingly, the moment Chloe laid eyes on Stella, her face twisted in disgust.

"What are you doing here? You already took all your mother's things. There's nothing left for you to steal."

Miranda was equally caught off guard but managed to maintain a slightly better facade. "What brings you back?"

Stella sneered. "Are you two comedians now? Do I need your permission to walk into this house?"