Chapter 8 - THE NANNY'S LIE
Claire Benson testified that I was distant, unstable, and prone to "disappearing for hours."
She said Julian handled most parenting responsibilities.
I almost laughed.
Julian did not know Maya's pediatrician's middle name, her shoe size, or which stuffed animal she needed after nightmares.
But Claire cried beautifully.
The judge listened.
Then Rachel asked one question.
"Ms. Benson, how much did Vance Family Holdings pay you last month?"
Claire's face changed.
"My severance."
"One hundred eighty thousand dollars?"
The courtroom shifted.
Rachel produced bank records.
Claire had received the payment two days after signing an affidavit for Julian.
Then Marcus found something better.
Claire had kept copies of house camera clips on a personal cloud account because she was afraid Victoria would blame her for things Genevieve did.
Rachel played one.
Genevieve grabbed Maya's arm hard enough to make her cry.
Julian stood five feet away.
He said, "Stop making a scene."
Another clip.
Victoria called Maya "soft like her mother."
Another.
Genevieve slapped the back of Maya's head at breakfast.
Julian kept reading his phone.
I stopped looking at him.
The judge denied his emergency custody request and ordered supervised contact pending investigation.
Julian's lawyer asked for a recess.
Outside, Julian cornered me near the elevators.
"You think your father can buy the court?"
"No."
"Then what are you doing?"
"Documenting you."
He stepped closer.
"You signed the divorce papers. You gave up the house."
"I gave up the house. Not my daughter."
His face hardened.
"You have no idea what I'm capable of."
A deputy moved toward us.
Julian backed away.
Then he smiled.
"Ask your father where your mother's trust went."
I froze.
My mother, Celeste Blackwood, died when I was nineteen.
Her trust was supposed to pass to me at thirty-five.
I had never received it.
Julian walked away.
At that moment, I knew two things.
May you like
He had been hiding something from me.
And so had my father.
