Chapter 9 - The TrustWe spent the next two days digging through records.
The truth became uglier with every document.
Margaret had created an entire financial network.
The Hale family wealth wasn't what Evan believed.
A significant portion came from stolen trusts.
And one of those trusts belonged to Lily.
The money was worth nearly twelve million dollars.
But there was something else.
The trust contained a clause.
If Lily died without descendants, the money would transfer to Margaret.
If Lily had descendants, the money would belong to them.
Maisie was the key.
Margaret didn't simply want my daughter.
She needed her.
I finally understood why Margaret had insisted on controlling Maisie's life.
Why she had wanted to choose her school.
Why she had demanded access to her medical records.
Why she had kept photographs.
She was building evidence.
She wanted to prove Maisie was part of the Hale family while hiding the truth about Lily.
Then Lily discovered something even worse.
“Claire.”
She placed a document on the table.
“Read this.”
I did.
It was a guardianship petition.
Filed six months earlier.
The petitioner was Margaret.
The child?
Maisie.
My hands began shaking.
“She filed for custody?”
“Yes.”
“When?”
“Six months ago.”
I looked at Evan.
“Did you know?”
“No.”
“You signed something.”
“I didn't know what it was.”
Lily stared at him.
“You always say that.”
Evan lowered his head.
Then my phone buzzed.
A message.
You have forty-eight hours.
I read the rest.
Give us Maisie, and the case disappears.
My blood froze.
“Us?”
Lily took the phone.
Her expression changed.
“This isn't Margaret.”
“Who is it?”
She stared at the number.
“Someone from the old network.”
Detective Harris called.
“We traced the message.”
“And?”
He paused.
“It's coming from inside your husband's company.”
I looked at Evan.
“No.”
His face was pale.
“I don't know anyone there.”
Detective Harris continued.
“Someone has been accessing Maisie's medical records.”
“When?”
“For months.”
I felt dizzy.
Then he said the words that changed everything.
“Claire, someone is following you.”
I looked out the window.
A black SUV was parked across the street.
The engine was running.
Then the driver's window lowered.
A woman looked directly at me.
I recognized her.
She had been at Margaret's birthday dinner.
One of Evan's cousins.
But she hadn't spoken a word all night.
May you like
Now she lifted her phone.
And took a photograph of Maisie.
