Chapter 10 - THE ORDER THAT DIDN'T EXIST
No judge had signed an order.
But Bianca had shown Lucy one.
That mattered.
They found the document hidden inside a children's book in Bianca's room.
It looked official.
Court seal.
Case number.
Judge's signature.
All fake.
"She used this to scare an eight-year-old," Maya said.
Vittorio said nothing.
He had reached the point where anger felt too small.
Detective Brooks traced the fake order to a printer in Salvatore's private office.
Then police found something else there.
A draft press package.
Photos of Vittorio at old crime scenes from his father's era.
Stories about organized-crime investigations that never charged him.
A psychiatric evaluation written by Dr. Kessler despite Kessler never having treated him.
And a proposed emergency petition asking the court to place Lucy with Bianca.
"She isn't even family," Emma said.
Maya tapped the wedding date.
"She would have been by next Thursday."
The wedding was scheduled for Wednesday.
The incident Thursday.
Court Friday.
Lucy's ninth birthday the following Monday.
A perfect four-day window.
Vittorio stared at the calendar.
"They built my marriage around a filing deadline."
That afternoon, Emma finally admitted why she had started recording before breakfast.
She had seen Bianca place the dog bowl in the room twenty minutes earlier.
"I knew she was planning something," Emma said. "I didn't know what."
"Why not take Lucy out?"
Emma's face tightened.
"I tried. Marcus locked the hall door."
Vittorio looked at her.
"You were trapped too."
She nodded.
Then her phone buzzed.
A message from an unknown number.
STOP HELPING HIM OR YOUR SON LOSES EVERYTHING.
Vittorio frowned.
"Your son?"
Emma slowly sat down.
"There is something I never told you."
May you like
She looked toward Lucy.
"My son works for Salvatore."
