Rolf, who was used to dealing with the rich and powerful, immediately picked up on what was happening.
He thought, “These wealthy types can flirt with women anytime, anywhere. If he stuck around any longer, he’d just look clueless, and there was nothing left for him to do here anyway.
Rolf set the mouse aside and said to Urban, “Take your time, Mr. Soto. I’ve got things to handle outside. Just call if you need
me.”
Rolf practically made a run for it. As soon as the door closed, Maxine took a step back, eyes glued to the computer screen, and said, “If possible, Mr. Soto, I’d appreciate it if you could keep your distance.”
Urban let out a soft chuckle. “Weren’t you just playing along with me a minute ago?”
Maxine couldn’t help but glance up at him.
Catching her gaze, Urban grinned and raised his hands in mock surrender. “Alright, alright, we were just putting on a show for the investigation, weren’t we?”
Horizon Oasis was one of Gabriel’s regular spots. There had to be something useful on the security footage.
Both of them thought the same and Maxine pulled up the surveillance from the days around when Ivanna had her incident.
Luckily, someone had set the system to keep the old recordings, so nothing had been deleted.
Maxine quickly skimmed through the footage until Gabriel appeared on camera, holding someone who was struggling in his arms.
Urban narrowed his eyes at the screen.
The woman in Gabriel’s arms fought desperately as he dragged her from the end of the hallway all the way to the elevator. His patience was clearly wearing thin.
The hallway was completely empty. For a place like Horizon Oasis, which was usually busy around the clock, that was odd. Gabriel must have cleared it out ahead of time.
The woman clung tightly to a pillar at the corner, her mouth opening and closing in silent desperation, like she was trying to call for help. Gabriel finally lost his patience and said something to her.
Her face shifted from desperate to hopeless. She let go and just stood there.
Maxine watched, expressionless, as Gabriel dragged her into the elevator. The hallway fell silent again.
Urban’s face grew serious as he watched the footage. “This is…”
“That woman is Ivanna,” Maxine replied, then gave a bitter, self–mocking laugh and muttered, “Gabriel is a monster. This is all my fault. If I’d just moved a little faster, maybe Ivanna would still be alive.”
The room fell silent. Urban was just about to say something to comfort her when Maxine pulled a USB drive from her pocket and plugged it into the computer. “Come help me. I need to copy this video,” she said.
Without hesitation, Urban sprang into action the moment Maxine produced the drive, copying the surveillance footage from that day onto it.
While the video was copying, Maxine asked quietly, “So, is this the real reason you called me over today?”
Urban paused, then let out a small laugh. “Even if I were a mind reader, there’s no way I could’ve guessed Gabriel was behind
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Chapter 88
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all this. I just happened to overhear something from a friend while I was trying to wrap up another case and get some help with Pandora.
“Honestly, I was just hoping to find a clue or two. I never expected we’d stumble on evidence this important.”
Maxine looked back at the screen, her voice soft. “Thank you.”
If it weren’t for Urban, she might never have found this footage. In a few days, it would’ve been wiped by the system, gone without a trace.
Urban smiled. “No problem. Consider it your new hire bonus.”
Once the transfer finished, Maxine rewound the footage to the moment she’d run into trouble at the elevator. The video was clear. After she left, the man spotted the charm on the floor and, in a fit of anger, kicked it into the elevator.
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