Chapter 2
Arthur closed the bedroom door so Ethan would not hear the call.
“How can the accounts be frozen?”
“The bank received documents claiming you misused company funds,” the chairman said. “There’s also an emergency board meeting tomorrow.”
“Who submitted the documents?”
“They came from an attorney representing Evelyn Cross.”
Vanessa’s mother.
Arthur looked through the window as Vanessa was placed in a police car.
She raised her handcuffed wrists and gave him a mocking wave.
“What does Evelyn want?”
“Control.”
Arthur ended the call and returned to Ethan.
The boy sat on Clara’s bed, clinging to her.
“Is Vanessa coming back?” he asked.
“No,” Arthur said.
Clara watched his face.
“You aren’t sure.”
Arthur could not lie to her.
“Vanessa’s family invested heavily in my company. Her mother is trying to use that investment against me.”
Clara looked toward the hallway.
“This was planned.”
Arthur nodded.
“The bracelet. Marcus. Maybe all of it.”
A police officer entered.
“We need statements from everyone.”
Clara spent the next hour describing the assault.
Ethan told the officer how Vanessa had grabbed him.
Arthur listened from across the room, growing sicker with every sentence.
This had not been the first incident.
Vanessa had called Ethan weak.
She had thrown away his drawings.
She had locked him in a dark closet for crying during a dinner party.
Arthur crouched in front of his son.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I tried.”
“When?”
“The night you brought Vanessa the blue flowers.”
Arthur remembered that night.
Ethan had come into his office, but Vanessa had followed him.
She told Arthur the boy wanted attention.
Arthur sent Ethan upstairs without listening.
“I’m sorry,” Arthur whispered.
Ethan lowered his eyes.
“You always believed her.”
Those words hurt more than any accusation Vanessa could have made.
Clara placed a hand on Ethan’s shoulder.
“He believes you now.”
After the police left, Arthur asked Clara to remain in the house.
“You’re a witness. Vanessa may try to frighten you.”
“She already tried to frame me.”
“That’s why you need protection.”
Clara’s expression tightened.
“I don’t want your money.”
“I didn’t say you did.”
“You hesitated when they found the bracelet.”
Arthur had no answer.
Clara walked to the dresser and began packing.
“You believed I might have stolen it.”
“For one second.”
“One second is enough when the police are standing at the door.”
“I was shocked.”
“So was I.”
Ethan jumped from the bed.
“Please don’t leave.”
Clara stopped folding her clothes.
The boy wrapped his arms around her waist.
“She’ll come back if you leave.”
Clara knelt.
“She cannot make me abandon you.”
Arthur stepped closer.
“Stay until this is finished. Not as an employee. Stay because Ethan trusts you.”
Clara looked into the boy’s frightened eyes.
“All right.”
Before Arthur could thank her, the doorbell rang.
A woman in a white suit stood outside with two attorneys.
Evelyn Cross was elegant, calm, and far more frightening than her daughter.
She walked into the house without waiting for permission.
“My daughter has been released.”
Arthur stared at her.
“How?”
“Marcus admitted planting the bracelet, but he claimed Vanessa never instructed him to do it.”
“He’s lying.”
“Prove it.”
Evelyn’s gaze moved to Clara.
“So this is the maid.”
“My name is Clara Bennett.”
“I know your name. I also know you owe forty thousand dollars in medical debt.”
Clara’s face changed.
Arthur looked at her.
Evelyn smiled.
“Did she forget to mention that?”
“My sister needed surgery,” Clara said.
“And you needed a wealthy man.”
Arthur moved in front of Clara.
“Get out.”
Evelyn handed him a folder.
“This petition was filed one hour ago.”
Arthur opened it.
It was a request for an emergency custody evaluation.
Vanessa claimed Arthur had become violent and unstable.
She alleged that he had attacked her in front of Ethan.
She also claimed Clara was Arthur’s secret lover.
“This is insane.”
“You hit my daughter,” Evelyn said.
“She was attacking a child.”
“According to your maid.”
“According to my son.”
“A traumatized six-year-old who has been coached by a financially desperate employee.”
Clara stepped forward.
“I would never use Ethan.”
Evelyn looked at her as if she were invisible.
“The evaluator will arrive tomorrow morning. If Arthur fails, Ethan may be removed from this home.”
Arthur gripped the folder.
“Vanessa has no parental rights.”
“No, but I do have influence.”
“You’re threatening my child.”
“I’m protecting him from an unstable father.”
Ethan appeared at the top of the stairs.
“You’re lying.”
Evelyn looked up.
Her expression softened instantly.
“Ethan, sweetheart, your father needs help.”
“My father protected me.”
“From whom?”
“Vanessa.”
Evelyn’s smile remained, but her eyes turned cold.
“We’ll discuss this when you’re somewhere safe.”
Arthur moved toward the stairs.
“You will never take him.”
Evelyn turned to leave.
“At ten tomorrow morning, the evaluator will decide whether that promise means anything.”
The attorneys followed her outside.
Arthur locked the door.
Clara picked up the custody petition from the floor.
“She knew exactly when to file this.”
“She was waiting.”
“For Vanessa to make you lose control.”
Arthur looked at the hand he had used to strike Vanessa.
He understood the trap now.
Vanessa had attacked Clara and Ethan because she knew he would react.
She wanted witnesses.
She wanted him angry.
She wanted him to appear dangerous.
His phone rang again.
This time it was an unknown number.
Arthur answered.
Marcus whispered from the other end.
“I can prove Vanessa paid me.”
“Where are you?”
“I can’t tell you.”
“Send me the evidence.”
“There’s something else. The bracelet wasn’t the real plan.”
Arthur’s blood ran cold.
“What was?”
Marcus began to answer.
Then Arthur heard a car door slam.
May you like
Marcus gasped.
The line went dead.
