Chapter 4 - The Dead Witness
At 1:17 in the morning, my attorney called me back.
Benjamin Cole had represented my family for twelve years.
He sounded half asleep until I emailed him the custody agreement.
Then he went completely silent.
“Ben?”
“I’m here.”
“Tell me she’s wrong.”
Another silence.
“Daniel…”
My stomach tightened.
“The witness listed on Mara’s custody waiver is Thomas Reed.”
“I know.”
“He was one of my father’s old attorneys.”
“Yes.”
“He died on March ninth.”
I stared at the document.
The witness date was April twenty-second.
Six weeks later.
I closed my eyes.
“Someone forged it.”
“It appears that way.”
Vivienne was standing across my study.
Mara sat on the couch.
Neither could hear Ben.
I lowered my voice.
“Who submitted it?”
“I need to pull the archived file.”
“Do it now.”
“Daniel, it’s after one.”
“I don’t care.”
He hesitated.
“There’s another problem.”
“What?”
“The submission came through your family office.”
My hand tightened around the phone.
“Whose login?”
“I’m checking.”
Vivienne watched me carefully.
I ended the call.
“What did he say?”
I looked at her.
“Thomas Reed was dead.”
Her expression barely moved.
“Mara could have altered the copy.”
Mara stood.
“You really thought nobody would ever check, didn’t you?”
Vivi snapped.
“I didn’t create those documents.”
“Then who did?”
“I don’t know.”
Mara laughed.
“You visited me.”
“Because Daniel asked me to help you.”
“No.”
I stepped forward.
“I never asked you.”
Vivi looked at me.
“You were overwhelmed.”
“That isn’t an answer.”
“I handled things.”
“You lied to me.”
“I protected you.”
“From the mother of my child?”
“From chaos!”
Her voice finally rose.
Mara flinched.
Not dramatically.
Just enough for me to notice.
Vivienne saw it too.
“You see?”
She pointed.
“She’s still unstable.”
Mara went pale.
I felt something inside me snap.
“Stop saying that.”
Vivi stared at me.
“You don’t know what happened.”
“Then tell me.”
She opened her mouth.
My phone rang.
Benjamin.
I answered immediately.
“What did you find?”
His voice sounded different now.
Tense.
“Daniel, the custody file was uploaded from a laptop registered to Hart Family Administration.”
“Whose laptop?”
“There were three authorized users.”
“Names.”
“You.”
I frowned.
“My mother.”
My chest tightened.
“And?”
Ben hesitated.
“Vivienne.”
The room went completely still.
Vivi heard her name.
Her face changed.
But Ben wasn’t finished.
“There’s something else.”
“What?”
“I found an audio attachment that was sealed with the original petition.”
“What audio?”
“I don’t think anybody intended you to hear it.”
I put the phone on speaker.
Ben played the file.
At first, there was only static.
Then my mother’s voice filled the room.
“Once Mara is admitted, Daniel can never know where she is.”
Vivienne answered.
“And Noah?”
My mother said:
“You take care of Noah.”
Then Vivi spoke again.
“And Daniel?”
My mother laughed.
“Give him time.”
A pause.
May you like
“He’ll eventually need a wife.”
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