Chapter 2 - the mansion gate
Arthur’s aircraft landed at a private airfield shortly after midnight.
By the time his car reached the Mercer estate, daylight had begun to spread across the horizon. The mansion stood behind iron gates at the end of a long tree-lined drive, its pale stone walls glowing under the morning sun.
Arthur had visited the property hundreds of times.
That morning, it looked like enemy territory.
Two private security guards stepped from the gatehouse as his car approached.
Neither wore Meridian uniforms.
Mara checked the personnel database from the passenger seat.
“They aren’t licensed to work here.”
Arthur lowered the window.
The taller guard approached.
“Mr. Vale, you are not permitted on the property.”
“Who hired you?”
“Mr. Mercer.”
“This estate is protected under a Meridian contract.”
“That contract was terminated.”
“By whom?”
The guard looked toward the gatehouse.
Arthur noticed the camera above the entrance. Its lens was pointed at the ground.
“Open the gate,” Arthur said.
“I can’t do that.”
Arthur handed him a card.
“Call the number on the back. Tell them you’re preventing a parent from confirming the safety of his child. Then decide whether Richard Mercer will pay your legal fees when this is over.”
The guard stared at the card.
Behind him, the second guard’s radio crackled.
“Let him through,” Richard’s voice said.
The gates opened.
Mara glanced at Arthur as the car moved forward.
“He wanted to refuse you first.”
“He wanted the cameras to record me forcing entry.”
“But you didn’t.”
“He’ll create another version.”
The front doors opened before their car stopped.
Richard waited at the top of the stairs. Eleanor stood beside him in a cream-colored robe, one hand resting on a cane. She looked older than Arthur remembered, but her eyes were sharp.
Lily was not with them.
Arthur stepped from the car.
“Where is she?”
Richard lifted a hand.
“Before you begin making accusations, you should understand that Lily has been under considerable stress.”
Arthur ignored him and looked at Eleanor.
“Where is my daughter?”
Eleanor’s gaze moved toward an upstairs window.
“She’s in her room.”
“Bring her down.”
Richard stepped between them.
“That is not your decision.”
Arthur climbed the first stair.
Richard blocked him.
Mara quietly activated the camera in her jacket button.
Arthur stopped close enough that Richard had to tilt his head upward.
“Move.”
“You abandoned your responsibilities.”
“I left her with her grandmother under a signed agreement.”
“You left the country.”
“For work.”
“For six weeks.”
“During which I called every night until you began preventing contact.”
Richard smiled faintly.
“You always believe every problem can be solved by issuing an order.”
Arthur heard a noise from inside.
A chair scraped across the floor. Someone gasped.
Then Lily appeared in the entrance hall.
She wore a blue sweater and dark trousers. Her hair had not been brushed. One side of her face was turned away.
A woman Arthur recognized as Sofia, the housekeeper, followed several steps behind her.
Lily saw Arthur.
For one heartbeat, she did not move.
Then she ran.
Richard reached toward her, but Eleanor struck the marble floor with her cane.
“Do not touch her.”
Lily rushed down the stairs and collided with Arthur’s chest.
He caught her and lifted her into his arms.
She immediately gripped his jacket.
“Dad.”
“I’m here.”
“You came.”
“I will always come.”
Arthur pulled back enough to see her face.
A faint red mark crossed her left cheek.
His entire body became still.
Lily saw where he was looking and tried to hide the mark against his shoulder.
Richard descended two steps.
“She fell while playing.”
Lily whispered into Arthur’s coat.
“I wasn’t playing.”
Arthur looked at Richard.
Richard’s expression did not change.
“Children become confused when they are frightened.”
Arthur lowered Lily gently but kept one arm around her.
“What frightened her?”
“You did,” Richard said. “Your absence. Your unstable lifestyle. The dangerous people surrounding your business.”
Mara stepped forward.
“That mark should be documented.”
Richard’s voice sharpened.
“No photographs.”
Arthur looked at Lily.
“Sweetheart, do you want to leave?”
Her answer came immediately.
“Yes.”
Richard turned toward the open doors.
“Bring me the file.”
A lawyer Arthur had not noticed emerged from the library carrying a sealed folder.
Richard removed the documents and held them out.
“This emergency order gives me temporary guardianship. Arthur has no right to remove Lily from the estate.”
Arthur took the first page.
The seal looked authentic.
So did the judge’s signature.
Mara read over his shoulder.
“The filing date was three days ago.”
Arthur looked at the final page.
His supposed electronic acknowledgment appeared beneath the court order.
Someone had used his digital signature.
Lily pulled at his sleeve.
“Dad, he said the paper means you don’t want me anymore.”
Arthur crouched in front of her.
“No paper could ever mean that.”
Behind Lily, Eleanor’s cane slipped from her hand and struck the ground.
Arthur looked up.
Eleanor was not staring at Lily.
She was staring at the documents.
“That isn’t the agreement I signed,” she said.
Richard’s face hardened.
May you like
Eleanor lifted one trembling finger toward him.
“You told me those papers were for medical care.”
