Chapter 8 - BEHIND THE WINE CELLAR
Police searched the house that afternoon.
I watched from the driveway because Detective Ortiz wouldn’t let me inside until the property was cleared.
The hidden room was behind a paneled wall beside the wine racks.
Inside were filing cabinets, a folding desk, two prepaid phones, and a printer used to produce the forged guardianship forms.
There was also a small refrigerator.
In it, investigators found several medications, all labeled under names no one in my family recognized.
I didn’t ask what they could do.
I didn’t want details.
I only needed to know Claire had brought them into the same house where my daughter slept.
On the desk was a calendar.
Certain dates were circled.
My business trips.
Maria’s days off.
Lily’s pediatric appointments.
And one date three weeks from now.
BOARD VOTE.
James looked at me. “That’s the annual controlling-interest vote.”
Under the words BOARD VOTE, someone had written: D.B. OUT BEFORE MONDAY.
My initials.
Detective Ortiz immediately assigned officers to me and Lily.
Then an officer called from upstairs.
They had found a second camera in my bedroom.
Not ours.
The device had been hidden inside a smoke detector.
Grant and Claire had been watching me too.
By evening, an arrest warrant was issued for Grant on financial crimes and evidence tampering. Claire’s temporary freedom disappeared when investigators connected her to the forged filings and the nursery recordings.
But when police reached the hotel where she had checked in, her room was empty.
The window was open.
Her rental car remained in the parking lot.
On the bed was my wedding ring.
I hadn’t even realized she had taken it from my dresser.
Beside it was a note.
YOU STILL BELIEVE MARIA.
ASK HER WHO WAS DRIVING EMMA’S CAR.
I read it twice.
Then Detective Ortiz turned toward Maria.
Maria closed her eyes.
“I knew she would use that,” she whispered.
“Use what?” I demanded.
May you like
Maria looked at me.
“I was driving.”
