The Rogue King's Surrogate novel Chapter 27

Chapter 27

“Anything?” Adam asked the head butler, Wilson. “Anything at all?”

Wilson adjusted the tablet in his hand. “Sadly, we cannot find any footage of when Miss Emery left the house.”

Adam’s brows drew together. “That’s not possible. There are cameras in every part of this estate.”

James stepped in. “What do you mean, you can’t find anything? What about her car?”

“There was a minor glitch in the system,” Wilson said. “Just under a minute of lost feed. But that wouldn’t be enough time to slip out. Not in a place this big. It would take longer to get from her wing to any of the exits.”

Adam crossed his arms. “Then where is she?”

Wilson shook his head. “There’s no record of anyone driving out. No gate activity. All vehicles accounted for. All the staff are still here.”

Adam narrowed his eyes. “Check the outside premises. Every inch. I want this taken seriously. She’s still my daughter.”

Wilson nodded. “Understood. But I did find something else.”

He handed the tablet to Adam.

Adam grabbed it without a word and hit play.

A few seconds in, his posture shifted. His grip tightened. His eyes didn’t blink.

Then he turned sharply toward Deana.

“You did this?”

Deana blinked. “What are you talking about?”

Adam turned the screen toward her and jabbed a finger at it. “Did you give Carl the keys and let him into Emery’s room!?”

Mary’s head turned to Deana, while James straightened.

Deana shook her head. “I—I didn’t-”

However, Adam was already in front of her. His hand came down hard across her face. She stumbled and caught herself on the edge of the couch.

“You let that man near Emery!?” Adam shouted. “How dare you!”

Deana pushed herself up. Her eyes locked on him. “I was trying to help.”

“By letting him assault Emery? That’s your idea of help!?”

“She wouldn’t agree to anything! She kept rejecting everyone whom you wanted her to marry!! I figured if Carl-if she had no other choice, she’d marry him!” Deana said. “And she’s supposed to marry him anyway? Why can’t Carl be with her alone!?”

Adam stepped forward again. His jaw clenched, hands shaking.

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ain why Carl was in his office,

didn’t know he’d do anything-”

“You gave him a key!” Adam shouted. “You planned this behind my back. You went behind all of us. What if something happened to her?”

“I was trying to fix this!”

“You don’t fix things by setting her up to be cornered!”

James stood still by the door. Mary looked at Deana, then back at Adam.

Adam turned away, chest rising and falling fast. He looked at Wilson. “Keep checking! And find out how Carl got into my office as well!”

“Actually, sir…” Wilson said, holding the tablet steady. “There was a glitch. It happened right around this timestamp.”

He tapped the screen. The footage played. It showed Carl walking down the hallway toward Emery’s room. He stopped at the door, reached into his pocket, and used a key to open it. The door swung inward, and then the screen cut to static.

Adam leaned in.

Wilson continued. “The glitch only lasted about forty-five seconds. Too short to seem suspicious at first. But when we reviewed it frame by frame, something felt off.”

He rewound the clip and slowed the playback. “Look here. Right before the static hits, there’s a frame drop. Almost like the file was scrubbed.”

Adam watched as the footage jumped forward. The next visible clip showed the door wide open. Carl was gone. The angle didn’t show the inside of the room.

Wilson added, “The hallway camera resumed without any disruption after that. Everything looks fine, but there’s no footage of Carl leaving. No audio. No motion triggers. It’s like someone wiped that section clean. Precisely timed.”

Adam didn’t look away from the screen. “You’re saying it was tampered with?”

Wilson nodded. “That’s the only explanation that fits. The system itself logs any interruptions. There’s no record of a crash or malfunction. Someone had to do it manually.”

Adam looked at James, then towards Mary. “Did you do this?” he asked.

“Why are you asking me? I was with you the whole time.”

“Mother, I am not joking. Emery—”

“Emery left because of how you treated her,” Mary said. She calmly got up. “For once, will you stop blaming other people and accept that it was your fault all along?”

“Mother, how could you say that!?”

Mary snorted. She glanced at Deana before looking at Adam. “I never thought that I would have an idiot of a son.”

“You-”

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“Emery left, that much is clear,” Mary said. She then took her phone and showed a text from Emery. Clearly, the text showed that she needed to get her mind off things.

“This…” Adam’s expression turned ugly. “You had this all along? Why didn’t you-”

Mary rolled her eyes and looked at Deana. “If I said something… wouldn’t that stop you from checking the cameras and knowing what your lovely wife did?”

“Mother-” Deana was not able to complete her words when Mary interrupted her.

“For the love of God, don’t call me that. I didn’t give birth to people this cruel.”

“Mother-”

“When you asked me to look after Emery because your wife was struggling with depression, I didn’t hesitate,” Mary said, her eyes fixed on Adam. “And when you said moving her back to your mansion might affect Emery’s own mental state, I kept her with me. I raised her like she was mine. And then you wonder why I would protect her like my own child?”

This time, Mary grabbed her bag.

“Mother, can you just tell me where Emery is?” Adam asked. “I need to see her. We need to talk.” He reached for Mary’s arm, but she stepped away. “Please. If I don’t find her… the Bennet family is finished.”

Mary let out a short, dry laugh.

“Mother… please…”

This time, James stepped forward, frowning. “What do you mean? What do you mean the Bennet family will be done for?”