Chapter 4 - Elena’s WarningDaniel shut the laptop.
The footsteps stopped outside.
He stood.
The doorknob slowly turned.
Claire walked in.
“You’re still awake?”
Daniel exhaled.
“Yeah.”
She immediately noticed his face.
“What happened?”
He stared at her.
Then said quietly:
“I found something from Elena.”
Claire stepped closer.
“What?”
“A video.”
“What did she say?”
Daniel hesitated.
“She warned me about my mother.”
Claire looked down.
“That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you.”
Daniel sat.
“I should have listened.”
Claire sat beside him.
“What else did she say?”
“That Margaret would accuse you of things you didn’t do.”
Claire went still.
Then she whispered, “She already did.”
Daniel turned toward her.
“Have you seen this before?”
“No.”
“Then how did Elena know?”
“I don’t know.”
A knock sounded.
Nora entered.
She looked nervous.
“Mr. Daniel?”
“What is it?”
“I need to tell you something.”
She glanced at Claire.
“About Margaret.”
Daniel stood.
“Go on.”
Nora swallowed.
“The day of the fountain incident, Mrs. Margaret asked me to move the terrace cameras.”
Daniel’s face hardened.
“Why?”
“She said one of the cameras was malfunctioning.”
“Did you move them?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Because Mr. Collins told me not to touch them.”
Daniel stared.
“Collins?”
“Yes.”
“Why would my attorney tell you that?”
Nora lowered her voice.
“Because he said someone had already accessed the security system.”
Daniel’s chest tightened.
“Who?”
Nora shook her head.
“He wouldn’t tell me.”
Claire said, “What happened next?”
Nora looked at Daniel.
“Mrs. Margaret fired me.”
“When?”
“This morning.”
Daniel’s jaw clenched.
“She fired you because you refused to move the cameras.”
Nora nodded.
“Then she told me not to speak to you.”
Daniel looked at Claire.
The pattern was becoming obvious.
Margaret wasn’t improvising.
She had been controlling people.
Removing witnesses.
Deleting evidence.
And apparently someone had helped her.
Daniel called Collins again.
This time the attorney answered.
“Daniel.”
“Tell me about the trust.”
Silence.
“What trust?”
“My father’s.”
Collins sighed.
“You should speak to your mother.”
“I already have.”
“Then you know she won’t tell you.”
Daniel gripped the phone.
“What happens to the trust when my unborn child is born?”
A long silence followed.
Then Collins said:
“That depends.”
“On what?”
“On whether the child is born into the family.”
Daniel frowned.
“What does that mean?”
“The trust requires both children to remain under your legal care.”
Daniel’s eyes narrowed.
“Both?”
“Ivy and the unborn child.”
“And if Claire and I separate?”
“Then the trustees review custody.”
Daniel understood.
If Margaret could convince him Claire was dangerous, unstable, or abusive, she could potentially force a custody battle.
And with Ivy already involved in the trust, everything could become tangled.
“What does my mother gain?”
Collins didn’t answer.
Daniel repeated the question.
“What does she gain?”
Finally, Collins said:
“Control.”
The line went quiet.
Daniel’s mind raced.
Control of what?
“The trust is worth how much?”
“Enough.”
“Give me a number.”
Collins hesitated.
“Approximately eighteen million.”
Daniel closed his eyes.
Claire stared at him.
“Eighteen million?”
He nodded.
Collins continued.
“And there’s something else.”
“What?”
“The trust contains a clause most people don’t know about.”
Daniel waited.
“The children’s guardian receives management authority if you are declared unfit.”
“Who is named as secondary guardian?”
Another pause.
Then Collins said the words Daniel dreaded.
“Your mother.”
Daniel slowly lowered the phone.
Margaret didn’t need Claire gone because she hated her.
She needed Claire gone because Claire stood between her and eighteen million dollars.
But there was another problem.
Daniel was still alive.
So Margaret needed to make him believe Claire was dangerous.
The fountain.
The accusations.
The deleted photograph.
Everything suddenly made sense.
Except one thing.
Why had Elena known?
And why had she warned Daniel years before Claire entered the family?
Daniel opened the recording again.
He listened carefully.
This time he noticed something hidden beneath Elena’s voice.
A soft sound.
Three knocks.
Pause.
Two knocks.
Pause.
Three knocks.
Claire heard it too.
“Do you recognize that?”
Daniel shook his head.
Then he remembered.
His father had used the same pattern when Daniel was a child.
A code.
A family code.
One that meant:
Check the room behind you.
Daniel turned.
Behind the bookshelf was a narrow wooden panel.
He had never noticed it before.
He moved the books.
The panel clicked.
It opened.
Inside was a hidden compartment.
And inside that compartment was a leather ledger.
The first page contained a list of payments.
Thousands of dollars.
Some dated fifteen years ago.
Some dated five years ago.
Some dated three months ago.
The most recent entry was yesterday.
The recipient was not Margaret.
It was a man named:
Victor Hale.
Daniel recognized the name.
May you like
He was the man in the photograph.
The man behind the hedge.
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