Chapter 10 - The Price of Silence
Victoria confronted Richard in the kitchen the next morning. “You're turning this home into a prison. Guards at every door, lawyers going through private papers, a therapist for a child who needs structure. For what? A tantrum?”
“Stop calling it a tantrum.”
“Then stop treating me like a criminal.”
Richard listed the facts: she had told Maya her mother died because she was born, locked her in a room, taken a key, and lied about it. Peter had pressured Grace to make a false statement. The guardianship form carried a forged signature.
Victoria's eyes filled. “I was trying to help you. You were drowning in grief, and Maya used it to keep you close. I thought structure would help.”
“Structure doesn't require fear.”
She leaned against the counter. For a moment she looked exhausted. “You don't know what it means to be the second wife in a house where the first one is worshipped. Every room is hers. Every story is hers. Even your daughter looks at me as if I'm stealing something just by being here.”
Richard felt the pull of sympathy, but he no longer let it erase the facts. “You could have told me you were struggling. You chose to make a child feel guilty for surviving her mother.”
Victoria's face hardened. “And you chose to believe a child over your wife.”
“I chose to investigate.”
Elaine's audit showed that Northstar had received more than four million dollars from the foundation. The listed services—housing assessments, scholarship reviews, emergency grants—had no supporting reports. Several payments went to shell companies linked to Peter's real estate debts.
A final transfer was scheduled for the day after the gala. The recipient was a company registered in Victoria's name.
May you like
Richard printed the transfer order and put it in a folder for investigators. Then he noticed the authorization signature at the bottom.
It was his own—but dated on a day he had been in London.
