Chapter 5: What Serena's Lawyers Said by Morning
Victor's lawyer arrived at half past midnight.
Her name was Catherine Marsh.
She was sixty-one years old, had worked for the Blackwood family for over two decades, and she walked into the mansion's study with the same energy she brought to every crisis: unhurried, precise, and already three steps ahead.
She sat across from Victor.
Lily and Rosa were in the adjoining room.
The phone was on the desk between them, connected to a portable drive Catherine had brought with her.
"All eleven videos have been copied and timestamped," Catherine said.
"The originals are preserved on Lily's device.
The metadata confirms the dates and locations.
None of it has been edited."
"Can Serena's lawyers challenge them?"
"They'll try.
They'll argue the recordings were made without consent, that the angles are misleading, that Lily had a motive." Catherine folded her hands on the desk.
"None of that will hold.
The content is unambiguous.
And the recorder from the hallway — the one you found beneath the table — that audio is clean.
Her own voice.
Her own words."
Victor was quiet for a moment.
"She said her lawyers would reinterpret the videos."
"They will attempt to.
That's their job." Catherine looked at him steadily.
"But Victor — she @bused a fourteen-month-old child over a period of at least four months.
The evidence is documented, timestamped, and corroborated by two witnesses.
There is no interpretation that makes this acceptable."
He stood and walked to the window.
"She knew about the recorder."
"Did she?"
"She disabled the security cameras.
She knew I wasn't supposed to be home.
But she didn't find the recorder." He turned.
"Which means someone placed it who didn't want her to know."
Catherine waited.
"Lily placed the cameras.
But the recorder under the table — that was already there.
I put it there six weeks ago." He paused.
"I had concerns.
About other things.
Financial things.
I wasn't looking for this."
Catherine sat very still.
"What kind of financial concerns?"
"Transfers.
Small amounts at first, then larger.
From accounts connected to Ethan's trust.
I thought it was an accounting error." He looked at her.
"I came home early tonight because my accountant called me.
He found a signature on a document that shouldn't exist."
Catherine opened her briefcase and took out a notepad.
"Show me."
Victor unlocked his desk drawer and placed a folder in front of her.
She opened it.
Read the first page.
Then the second.
Her expression didn't change, but her pen stopped moving.
"Victor." She looked up.
"This document transfers a portion of Ethan's trust to a holding company registered in the Cayman Islands." She turned to the next page.
"And this is a power of attorney — granting Serena Voss the authority to act on Ethan's behalf in financial matters." She set the pen down.
"When did you sign this?"
"I didn't."
The room went very quiet.
"That is not my signature," Victor said.
"I have never seen that document before tonight."
Catherine looked at the signature again.
Then at Victor.
"If this is forged, we are no longer talking about child endangerment alone."
"I know."
"This is fraud.
Potentially significant fraud, depending on how much has already moved."
"My accountant is pulling the full transaction history tonight."
Catherine closed the folder carefully.
"Does Serena know you found this?"
"No.
She thinks I sent her home because of Ethan."
"Good." Catherine stood.
"Do not contact her.
Do not let her know about the documents.
Not tonight, not tomorrow." She picked up the folder.
"I need to make two calls.
One to a forensic accountant I trust.
One to someone at the financial crimes unit." She looked at him.
"Victor — if she forged your signature to access your son's trust, she has been planning this for a long time."
Victor looked at the folder in her hands.
"How long?" he said.
May you like
Catherine's answer was quiet and precise and landed like a door closing on everything he thought he knew.
"Long enough to know exactly when to disappear."
