Chapter 3
Victor handed Ethan to me and stood so fast the rocking chair struck the wall.
“How is she still inside?”
His voice was low.
Sharp.
Dangerous.
Ethan flinched.
Victor saw it and immediately lowered his tone.
“I’m sorry, buddy.”
I held Ethan close.
“He needs to be away from this.”
Victor nodded.
“Take him to the east sitting room. Lock the door. Call Marcus.”
“What about you?”
“I’m going to my study.”
Fear shot through me.
“Victor, wait for security.”
He looked at the monitor.
Serena disappeared through the study door.
His jaw hardened.
“She has a key.”
“And maybe a weapon.”
That stopped him.
Only for half a second.
Then he pulled out his phone and called Marcus.
“Study. Now.”
I carried Ethan down the east hall as quickly as I could.
He cried softly into my shoulder.
“It’s okay,” I whispered. “I’ve got you.”
But my hands shook.
Because Serena had been escorted out.
Security had watched her leave.
Somehow, she had come back in.
That meant she had help.
The east sitting room had a lock.
I stepped inside, locked the door, and sat behind the sofa with Ethan in my lap.
Then I called Marcus like Victor told me.
He answered out of breath.
“We’re on it.”
“She’s in the study.”
“We know.”
“How did she get back in?”
A pause.
“Service entrance.”
My stomach turned.
“Who let her in?”
“We don’t know yet.”
Ethan whimpered.
I rocked him gently.
Then I heard shouting from down the hall.
Victor.
Serena.
A crash.
My whole body went cold.
I pressed Ethan’s ear to my chest and hummed, trying to cover the noise.
But the house carried everything.
“You had no right!” Serena screamed.
Victor’s voice thundered back.
“You were in my safe.”
My heart stopped.
The study safe.
Claire’s documents were there.
Ethan’s trust papers.
Victor’s will.
Everything Serena had been asking about for weeks in little casual ways.
What happens to Ethan’s inheritance if you remarry?
Does Claire’s family have rights?
Wouldn’t it be simpler if everything passed through you?
I had heard the questions while pouring coffee.
I had told myself wealthy families talked that way.
Now I knew better.
The sitting room door handle rattled.
I froze.
“Lily,” a voice whispered.
Serena.
Ethan stiffened.
“No,” he whimpered.
I held him tighter and did not answer.
The handle turned again.
“Open the door.”
I stayed silent.
Her voice softened.
“Lily, I’m sorry. I panicked. Victor is making this worse.”
I reached for my phone, but my fingers trembled so badly I nearly dropped it.
I texted Marcus.
She is at east sitting room door.
Footsteps pounded.
Serena cursed.
Then she ran.
Marcus reached the door seconds later.
“Lily?”
“It’s me,” I called.
“Stay locked.”
I heard him run after her.
A baby should not know fear like that.
But Ethan did.
He was staring at the door with wide eyes.
I touched his cheek.
“She can’t come in.”
He placed one tiny hand on my face.
“Li.”
It was what he called me.
Not Lily.
Li.
I cried then.
Quietly.
Not because of the pain in my side.
Because he had learned to call for me before he could say enough words to explain why.
Twenty minutes later, Victor knocked softly.
“Lily. It’s me.”
I opened the door.
His knuckles were bruised.
His face was pale.
“Are you hurt?” I asked.
“No.”
“Your hand.”
“I punched the wall.”
“That counts as hurt.”
His mouth twitched for half a second, then vanished.
“They caught Serena near the garage.”
“With the papers?”
“Yes.”
“What papers?”
His eyes darkened.
“My updated will. Ethan’s trust amendment. Claire’s medical records.”
I stared.
“Claire’s medical records?”
Victor looked down the hall before answering.
“Serena said she needed them for estate planning. I told her no.”
“She took them?”
“She tried.”
Marcus approached then.
His expression was grim.
“Sir, we found something in Ms. Vale’s car.”
Victor turned.
“What?”
“A suitcase. Cash. Passports. And a folder labeled Mercer custody strategy.”
My blood ran cold.
Victor closed his eyes.
“Bring it to the library.”
Police returned.
This time, Serena was arrested.
I watched from the top of the stairs, holding Ethan.
She looked up at me while the officer placed cuffs on her wrists.
“You think this ends here?” she called.
Victor stepped into her path.
“It ends with you away from my son.”
Serena smiled.
“No. It ends when you learn what Claire was hiding.”
Victor went still.
The whole foyer froze.
“What did you say?”
Serena’s smile widened.
“Ask the nanny. She found the old journal, didn’t she?”
My stomach dropped.
Victor turned slowly toward me.
I felt the blood leave my face.
Because I had found a journal.
Claire’s journal.
Three weeks earlier.
Hidden behind loose wallpaper in Ethan’s closet.
I had not told Victor yet.
Not because I wanted secrets.
May you like
Because the first page had his name on it.
Victor, if anything happens to me, do not trust Serena Vale.
