Chapter 16 - THE EMPTY NURSERY
I didn't scream when I saw the empty folder. That frightened me almost as much as the missing papers. I was growing used to the idea that Serena could reach into my life whenever she wanted.
"Call the police," I told Owen. "And have the locks changed tonight."
Detective Ellis came with a technician. Nothing else appeared missing. June's little yellow blanket still lay across the crib rail, and the paper stars Tessa had helped me hang were untouched.
The folder had held Ruth's personal letter naming me the independent reviewer she wanted for the access trust. Leah had copies of the trust deed, but the letter explained why Ruth had chosen me. Serena had dismissed it as sentimental nonsense when I first received it.
"Now she suddenly wants it," I said.
The doorbell camera showed a man entering through the side gate at three fourteen. His cap hid his face, but the borrowed car had a company sticker on the back window. Graham Vale's assistant used that same car.
Owen stared at the screen. "I gave Serena the gate code years ago."
"Then she gave it to him," I said.
It hurt to watch the truth arrive in such ordinary pieces: a code, a copied key, a quiet front door. No dramatic music. Just people taking advantage of the trust we'd handed them.
The police collected the footage. A locksmith came before midnight. Owen stayed beside me while the man changed every outside lock.
"I should have protected you," Owen said.
"You should have listened to me. Protection without listening is just another way of deciding for someone else."
He accepted that without argument.
In the morning Leah called from her office. "Ruth gave me a sealed copy of the letter. I didn't know you'd lost yours until last night."
May you like
I nearly cried with relief.
Then Leah added, "There's a handwritten note on the back. It's about Graham. And I think it explains why she never wanted him anywhere near the trust."
