Chapter 2
I watched the hallway footage three times.
Each time, I hoped I had misunderstood what I was seeing.
I had not.
My mother, Margaret Carter, had stood less than fifteen feet away while Vanessa threatened my daughter.
She saw Lily crying.
She saw Vanessa grab her wrist.
Then she turned around and quietly walked toward the kitchen.
She never called me.
She never stopped Vanessa.
She never helped Lily.
I checked the timestamp.
Forty minutes later, my mother had texted me.
Dinner tomorrow? Vanessa is doing such a wonderful job with Lily.
My hands started shaking.
I called her immediately.
She answered on the third ring.
“Daniel?”
“Were you at my house today?”
Silence.
That was enough.
“Mom.”
“I stopped by briefly.”
“You saw Vanessa with Lily.”
Another pause.
“I saw them having an argument.”
“She slapped my daughter.”
“I didn’t see that.”
“You’re on camera.”
The silence became heavier.
Finally, my mother sighed.
“Daniel, things are more complicated than they look.”
My anger exploded.
“What is complicated about a grown woman hitting a seven-year-old?”
“Lower your voice.”
“Answer me.”
“She was frustrated.”
I could barely believe what I was hearing.
“Frustrated?”
“Vanessa has been trying very hard to become part of this family.”
“She assaulted Lily.”
“She made a terrible mistake.”
“No. A mistake is forgetting a birthday. A mistake is burning dinner. She hit my daughter and tried to send Elena to jail.”
My mother’s tone changed.
“Why are you always so dramatic when it comes to Lily?”
I stopped breathing for a second.
“What did you say?”
“You’ve protected that child from every uncomfortable moment since Claire died.”
“That child is your granddaughter.”
“And she needs discipline.”
I ended the call before I said something I would regret.
When I turned around, Elena was standing at the bottom of the stairs.
She had heard enough.
“I’m sorry,” she said.
“You have nothing to apologize for.”
“There is something I should have told you.”
My stomach tightened.
“What?”
Elena sat down.
“Vanessa tried to fire me three weeks ago.”
“What?”
“She said Lily was too attached to me.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because she apologized the next day. She said she was jealous. She cried. She asked me not to make trouble between you.”
I closed my eyes.
Vanessa had been manipulating everyone around me while I was working twelve-hour days.
Elena continued.
“She also asked strange questions.”
“What kind?”
“About Lily’s trust.”
That got my attention.
Claire had left Lily money.
A lot of money.
Her parents had built a successful medical equipment company, and when Claire died, her inheritance passed into a protected trust for Lily.
I was trustee until Lily turned twenty-one.
Almost nobody knew the details.
“What did Vanessa ask?”
“She asked what would happen if you were unable to manage the trust.”
My chest tightened.
“How did that conversation even start?”
“It didn’t. She just asked.”
Elena looked toward the stairs.
“I thought she was worried about your health. Then she asked who would become Lily’s guardian if something happened to you.”
A cold feeling moved through me.
“Did you answer?”
“No.”
“Good.”
Elena hesitated.
“There’s more.”
She told me that two weeks earlier she had found Vanessa inside my home office.
The office was locked.
Vanessa claimed she was looking for a charger.
Elena had believed her.
I didn’t.
I went upstairs and checked my desk.
Nothing looked disturbed.
Then I opened the cabinet containing my legal files.
One folder was missing.
Lily’s trust documents.
I called my attorney before midnight.
Thomas Reed had represented Claire’s family for years.
He answered immediately when I told him what was missing.
“Daniel, listen carefully,” he said. “Do not confront Vanessa about the trust.”
“She’s already been arrested.”
“That may not matter.”
“Why?”
Thomas became quiet.
“Because I received a request last month for a certified copy of those documents.”
My heart stopped.
“From who?”
“The request appeared to come from you.”
“I never requested anything.”
“I suspected that.”
“Why didn’t you call me?”
“I did. Your office returned the call and confirmed it.”
“My office?”
“Yes.”
I walked toward my desk.
“Who confirmed it?”
Thomas checked his records.
“Grant.”
My brother.
I sat down slowly.
Grant was chief operating officer of Carter Development.
He had access to my office.
My schedules.
My staff.
My mother trusted him completely.
And according to Claire’s original trust documents, if I became unable to serve as trustee, Grant was listed as temporary successor until the court appointed someone permanent.
“Daniel?” Thomas asked.
“I’m here.”
“There is something else you need to know.”
“What?”
“Claire changed that provision shortly before she died.”
I frowned.
“No, she didn’t.”
“Yes, she did.”
“What are you talking about?”
“She signed an amendment.”
My throat went dry.
“Who is the successor trustee?”
“I can’t discuss everything over the phone. Come to my office tomorrow morning.”
“Thomas.”
He exhaled.
“Claire left a letter with the amendment.”
“For me?”
“No.”
The answer confused me.
“Then for who?”
“For Lily.”
I looked toward the staircase.
My daughter was sleeping upstairs after being assaulted in her own home.
Her grandmother had watched.
My fiancée had framed an innocent woman.
Now my brother’s name was connected to missing trust documents.
“Why would Claire change the trust without telling me?”
Thomas answered carefully.
“Because before she died, she discovered something about Grant.”
A sound came from outside.
I turned toward the window.
A car was parked across the street.
Its headlights were off.
Someone was sitting inside.
Then my phone vibrated.
Unknown number.
One message.
STOP DIGGING INTO CLAIRE’S FILES.
A second message appeared.
May you like
YOU ALREADY FAILED TO PROTECT YOUR WIFE.
DON’T FAIL YOUR DAUGHTER TOO.
