Chapter 3 - The Offer
The kitchen went silent.
Victoria stared at Lily.
"That is ridiculous."
Lily pulled out her phone.
A text message glowed on the screen.
VICTORIA: Take the day off. Five thousand cash. Don't ask questions.
Timestamp: 7:46 a.m.
Elena felt sick.
"Why would you send that?"
Victoria recovered quickly. "Because Lily has been working nonstop. I was being generous."
"Five thousand dollars?" Adrian asked.
"It's my money."
"No," he said. "It came from our household account."
Victoria looked at him too fast.
Adrian had not checked yet.
But he knew her.
That was enough.
Daniel pulled the household finance app onto a tablet. A cash withdrawal request for $5,000 had been initiated the night before using Elena's secondary card.
Elena whispered, "I didn't do that."
Victoria turned toward her. "You asked me to help manage expenses after Noah was born."
"Help, not pretend to be me."
The police officer asked Victoria to remain available while the lab tested the bottle.
She demanded a lawyer.
That was when Adrian stopped thinking this was a family argument.
He moved Elena, Noah, and Lily into the library while police worked.
Elena sat on the sofa holding her son.
"Why didn't you tell me about the money?" she asked Lily.
"I tried."
Elena looked up.
Lily's voice remained gentle.
"Last week I told you Miss Victoria was going through the pantry after midnight. You said she was probably looking for tea."
Elena remembered.
She had laughed.
Lily continued. "Three days ago I told you the nursery cabinet had been opened after I locked it. You said you were tired."
Elena closed her eyes.
Adrian sat across from them.
"What else?"
Lily hesitated.
"There is a blue folder in Miss Victoria's room. I saw Noah's name on it."
Elena looked at Adrian.
"What kind of folder?"
"Legal papers, I think."
Daniel appeared in the doorway.
"Mr. Bennett, Victoria's room is empty."
Adrian stood.
"She was just here."
"She left through the service garage."
May you like
Daniel held up a keycard log.
"And she took the blue folder with her."
