Chapter 6: The Woman She Had Always Been
Three days passed.
Serena did not call.
Victor did not call her either.
He followed Catherine's instructions exactly — no contact, no confrontation, nothing that might signal what he now knew.
He went to his office each morning.
He came home each evening.
He sat with Ethan in the nursery and read to him from the same board book until Ethan fell asleep with one fist curled around Victor's finger.
Lily stayed.
Victor had asked her to, and she had said yes without hesitating.
On the fourth morning, Catherine called.
"The forensic accountant finished his review last night." Her voice was measured.
"Over fourteen months, eleven transfers were made from accounts connected to Ethan's trust.
Total amount: four point three million dollars.
All moved to the Cayman holding company.
The company was incorporated eight days after you announced your engagement."
Victor was standing in the kitchen.
He set down his coffee.
"Eight days."
"The holding company has a single director.
The name on the registration is a woman named Diane Voss." A pause.
"Serena's mother."
He didn't speak for a moment.
"There's more," Catherine said.
"We ran a background check on Serena Voss — her full legal history, not just the surface profile.
She has used three different names in the past decade.
In 2016, she was engaged to a man in Geneva.
He broke off the engagement after discovering unauthorized transfers from a joint account.
No criminal charges were filed — he settled privately." Another pause.
"In 2019, she was briefly married to a property developer in Dubai.
The marriage lasted seven months.
He filed for annulment citing financial deception.
Again, settled privately."
"She's done this before."
"At least twice that we can confirm.
Possibly more."
Victor walked to the window.
Outside, the garden was bright and ordinary.
A gardener was trimming the hedge near the gate.
"She targeted Ethan's trust specifically," he said.
"Yes.
A child's trust is harder to monitor in real time.
The transfers were structured to stay below automatic audit thresholds.
Whoever designed the scheme understood financial compliance systems well enough to work around them."
"Her mother."
"Or someone her mother hired.
We're still tracing."
Victor turned away from the window.
"What do we do now?"
"The financial crimes unit has everything.
They will move when they're ready — we don't control the timing, but the case is strong." Catherine paused.
"But Victor, there's a decision you need to make before that happens."
"What decision?"
"Serena doesn't know what we know.
She still thinks this is about Ethan.
She will eventually reach out — either to negotiate, to threaten, or to run.
When she does, you will have a choice about how you respond." A beat.
"I think she's going to come to you.
In person.
And I think she's going to come with a story."
He was quiet.
"When she does," Catherine said, "I need you to let her talk."
That afternoon, Serena called.
Her voice was warm.
Controlled.
Slightly wounded in a way that was carefully calibrated.
"I've had time to think," she said.
"I overreacted the other night.
I was frightened and I said things I shouldn't have.
I'd like to come and talk.
Just the two of us."
Victor said: "Come tomorrow.
Seven o'clock."
He called Catherine the moment he hung up.
"She's coming tomorrow," he said.
May you like
"Good." Catherine's voice was calm.
"I'll have someone there by six."
