Chapter 9 - The Trustee
Harold denied meeting Victoria.
Then Rachel sent him the photo.
His story changed.
"She asked me questions about the trust."
Adrian stared at him across a video call.
"At midnight? Behind my house?"
Harold removed his glasses.
"She said Elena was unstable and you were unreachable. She wanted to know what legal steps would be required if Noah needed emergency protection."
Elena felt fury rise.
"And you believed her?"
"I listened. I did not agree."
"Why didn't you tell us?"
Harold had no good answer.
Rachel did.
"Because he was protecting the trust from scandal instead of protecting the beneficiary."
Harold looked ashamed.
That did not make him innocent, but it made the picture clearer.
He surrendered his communications voluntarily.
Victoria had sent him dozens of messages.
In one:
Elena is getting worse. Adrian refuses to see it.
In another:
If the baby becomes medically fragile, I need authority immediately.
The wording chilled Elena.
Not if something happens.
If the baby becomes medically fragile.
Then Rachel found a calendar attachment Victoria had sent Harold.
It listed Adrian's travel schedule, Elena's therapy appointments, Noah's pediatric visits, and Lily's days off.
Lily stared at the screen.
"Tuesday is wrong."
Everyone looked at her.
"I'm never off Tuesday. Miss Victoria asked me to take Tuesday off."
The same day she offered five thousand dollars.
The bottle day.
Police upgraded the case.
Meanwhile, Adrian's audit team traced the shell companies.
Money moved from Bennett Holdings to Marcus-controlled vendors, then into a private investment partnership.
One partner:
Victoria Marsh.
Another:
Dr. Stephen Cole.
A third name appeared behind a holding company.
Elena read it twice.
"No."
Adrian looked at her.
The final partner was Samuel Reyes.
May you like
Elena's former fiance.
The man Victoria had married in secret six weeks earlier.
