The Stolen Legacy is the first case in the Leila Voss & Associates files. Set in 1920s Britain, it follows detective Leila Voss, Josh Thorne, and Pete Smith as they unpick a theft that runs deeper than anyone expects. Each chapter will appear here as the story unfolds in the shadows.
Chapter 2 – Undercover Roles
Glasgow, The Hunterian Gallery – Late Afternoon
The gallery had grown quiet in the hours since the police left — too quiet, the kind of silence that settles in a room after something irreplaceable has been taken from it.
They stood before the empty golden frame, mist curling against the tall gallery windows. Leila studied it for a long moment, then turned to face them — her plan already formed, precise and deliberate.
“Our cover must be flawless,” she said, voice low. “We’re not investigators here. We’re not outsiders. We belong inside the world that surrounds this painting.”
She turned to Josh first. “You’ll take a position as night security — recently arrived from the north, quiet, dependable. Ask nothing. See everything. Learn the blind spots, watch the corridors, and pay attention to anyone who moves too easily through locked doors. Thieves know each other by instinct. You’ll feel them before you see them.”
Then to Pete, a faint smile. “You become Julian Laurent — visiting art scholar from the continent. Charming, curious, wealthy enough to seem harmless, knowledgeable enough to be welcomed. Mingle with the students, the dealers, the regulars. Flatter their opinions. Listen to their gossip. Find out who’s been asking about the portrait — or who’s been seen lately with too much gold and too few scruples.”
“And you?” Pete asked, already straightening, his manner shifting into something easier, more cultured.
“I’ll be the new assistant curator,” Leila answered, green eyes steady. “Quiet, meticulous, buried in the archives. I’ll trace the painting’s history — check for altered documents, forged permissions, hidden access routes. I’ll find out how they entered without a trace, and what exactly they were looking for beneath the paint.”
That evening, their new lives began.
Josh reported for duty, his broad frame settling naturally into the guard’s uniform. Pete drifted through the gallery halls, his smile earning trust in minutes. Leila sat at a cluttered desk surrounded by ledgers, digging quietly into the past.
But as the gallery doors locked and the city fell dark, the silence felt different — watchful, intent.
Somewhere in Glasgow, the stolen portrait was hidden. And somewhere close, someone already knew they were here.
Chapter 3 drops Tuesday. Don’t miss it.
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