Chapter 3 - THE ORDER TO TAKE LEO
I wanted to scream.
Instead, I locked my phone.
Leo was watching me.
Children always noticed the things adults tried to hide.
“Are you sick?” he asked.
“No, sweetheart.”
The lie burned my tongue.
Vincent studied my face.
“Emma.”
I looked toward the hallway.
“Can we speak alone?”
He nodded to Marco.
“Stay with Leo.”
Leo grabbed my wrist.
“Don't send me away.”
Vincent knelt.
“I'm not sending you anywhere.”
“That's what Sabrina said.”
Vincent went still.
I put my hand over Leo's.
“I'll be right outside.”
We entered the study.
The door clicked shut.
I showed Vincent the photograph.
He read the message twice.
His expression did not change.
That frightened me more.
“Your sister?”
“Lily. She's nineteen.”
“Where?”
“Northwestern.”
He picked up his phone.
I caught his sleeve.
“Please don't make this worse.”
His eyes lifted to mine.
“Someone threatened your family.”
“Because I defended your son.”
He looked away.
For the first time, I saw shame.
“I brought Sabrina into this house.”
“You didn't send that message.”
“I let her make you afraid.”
I couldn't answer.
He called Marco.
“Send two women to Lily Brooks.”
“Armed?”
“Discreet. No uniforms.”
He ended the call.
“Your sister will be safe.”
I wanted to believe him.
I had watched men twice his size obey a whisper.
But someone had fooled Vincent for years.
Money had disappeared.
Documents had been forged.
A woman had died.
And his son had carried proof in a toy.
“How do we know your men are loyal?” I asked.
Vincent looked at me for a long moment.
“We don't.”
The answer made my blood cold.
Downstairs, a glass shattered.
We hurried back.
Claire stood beside the fireplace.
Sabrina's champagne lay across the carpet.
“You made me wear her wedding ring,” Claire said.
Sabrina's face was pale.
“I don't know what you're talking about.”
“You paid for the photographs.”
“She's lying,” Sabrina snapped.
Claire reached into her coat.
Marco moved instantly.
“Hands where I can see them.”
Claire raised both hands.
“It's just a phone.”
She placed it on the table.
A video filled the screen.
A hospital corridor.
A woman in a blue coat.
Dark hair.
A white scarf.
The timestamp showed the morning after Isabella's accident.
The woman turned.
It was Claire.
She wore Isabella's wedding ring.
Vincent gripped the back of a chair.
“Why would they need this?”
Claire's voice shook.
“To prove she survived the crash.”
“Why?”
“They needed a living Isabella to sign something.”
Leo whispered, “The papers.”
I turned toward him.
He was staring at the screen.
“Mom never wore that scarf.”
Vincent glanced down.
“Are you sure?”
“She hated white scarves.”
The room fell silent.
Claire wiped her cheeks.
“Daniel said it was a harmless insurance matter.”
“And you believed him?” I asked.
“No.”
Her eyes met mine.
“I needed money for my daughter.”
That stopped me.
“How old?”
“Six.”
Claire took a shaky breath.
“They told me they'd hurt her if I stopped.”
Vincent leaned toward her.
“Where is your daughter now?”
Claire's mouth trembled.
“I don't know.”
The study clock struck nine.
Outside, rain tapped the windows.
I thought about Lily.
About a little girl missing somewhere.
About Leo listening to adults explain away his memories.
“Then we find her,” I said.
Sabrina laughed bitterly.
“You think this family saves people?”
Vincent looked at her.
“This family is going to start.”
He ordered the guests to leave.
No photographs.
No engagement toast.
No polite explanation.
The mansion emptied in fifteen minutes.
Only the guards remained.
And the people who had lied.
A lawyer arrived before ten.
Her name was Evelyn Price.
She had silver hair and a battered leather briefcase.
Vincent showed her Isabella's letter.
Evelyn read it without speaking.
Then she asked for the original trust.
Vincent frowned.
“It's in the family vault.”
“Have you opened it since your father died?”
“No.”
Evelyn's eyes hardened.
“Then we need to.”
We followed her downstairs.
Past the wine cellar.
Past a corridor I'd never entered.
A steel door waited at the end.
Vincent pressed his thumb against the scanner.
The lock flashed red.
He tried again.
Red.
Marco checked the panel.
“Your access was revoked.”
“By whom?”
Marco swallowed.
“Daniel Caruso.”
Evelyn closed her briefcase.
“Then your brother has already started.”
Vincent called his bank.
He listened.
Then slowly lowered the phone.
“What?” I asked.
He looked at Leo.
“The court filed an emergency order this afternoon.”
Evelyn held out her hand.
“Let me see.”
He passed her the email.
She read it.
Her face changed.
“Vincent.”
“What is it?”
“Daniel has petitioned for temporary custody.”
Leo stepped backward.
“No.”
Vincent reached for him.
“Listen to me.”
But Leo was staring at the attachment.
At the name of the psychologist.
At the typed conclusion beneath it.
UNSAFE PATERNAL HOME.
CHILD REQUIRES IMMEDIATE REMOVAL.
The signature belonged to Dr. Alan Pierce.
The man Sabrina had brought into the house.
Leo began shaking.
“I told him I wasn't crazy.”
I knelt beside him.
“You aren't.”
The doorbell rang.
Three sharp chimes.
Marco checked the security monitor.
Two officers stood on the porch.
Between them was a woman holding court papers.
Vincent's phone rang again.
Unknown number.
He answered.
Daniel's voice filled the room.
“Happy birthday week, big brother.”
Vincent's eyes went dark.
“Where are you?”
“Right where I need to be.”
“You threatened my son.”
Daniel chuckled.
“No, Vincent.”
May you like
A pause.
“I just took away your right to keep him.”
