Chapter 5 - the trust that made two children targets
Gabriel read the threat three times.
Each time it became worse.
Next time the stroller will be empty.
He looked at Emma sleeping in Nora's arms.
Then at Lily.
For the first time since Julia's death, fear overcame anger.
Someone was not simply protecting an old secret.
Someone was threatening his daughters in the present.
Detective Shaw sealed the card as evidence.
"No one enters or leaves without identification."
Gabriel shook his head.
"I want Lily and Emma moved."
"Where?"
"Somewhere nobody knows."
Shaw considered it.
"That may be safer, but only if the location is genuinely secure."
Nora spoke quietly.
"I know somewhere."
Gabriel turned.
"My sister has a farmhouse outside Bedford."
"No."
"Mr. Mercer."
"No private homes. No relatives. Nobody connected to us."
Lily stared at him.
Gabriel softened his voice.
"I'm keeping you safe."
She looked toward Nora.
"Can Nora come?"
Gabriel answered immediately.
"Yes."
Nora looked surprised.
Despite everything Caroline had tried to suggest, Gabriel trusted her.
Maybe because Julia had.
By sunrise, Lily, Emma, Nora, and Mrs. Parker were moved to a private residence owned through one of Gabriel's unrelated companies.
Only Gabriel, Shaw, and two senior security officers knew the address.
Gabriel remained at Mercer House.
He wanted answers.
The first came from his family attorney, Leonard Price.
Price arrived carrying an old leather briefcase.
Gabriel placed Julia's notebook on the desk.
"Explain the Mercer Children's Trust."
Price looked uncomfortable.
"Your grandfather created it in 1984."
"What does it control?"
"Several private investments. Real estate. Voting shares."
"How many voting shares?"
Price hesitated.
Gabriel's voice sharpened.
"How many?"
"Twenty-four percent of Mercer Holdings."
Gabriel stared at him.
Twenty-four percent was enough to change control of the company.
"Who currently controls those shares?"
"The trustees."
"Which trustees?"
"Your uncle Malcolm. Caroline. And me."
Gabriel slowly sat down.
"Caroline?"
"She became a trustee after your father's death."
"And if Lily and Emma live?"
"The trust eventually passes to them."
"And if they die?"
Price swallowed.
"If there are no surviving descendants of your father, the assets revert to the broader Mercer family branch."
"Meaning Malcolm and Caroline."
"Potentially."
Gabriel leaned back.
"Potentially?"
"Trust law is complicated."
"Not today."
Price looked down.
"Yes. Primarily Malcolm and Caroline."
The room went silent.
Gabriel understood Julia's fear now.
Not completely.
But enough.
His daughters were not merely children.
On paper, they represented control of billions of dollars.
Julia had discovered it.
Then Julia had died.
Now Emma's stroller had been released toward a marble staircase.
Gabriel stood.
"Why didn't you tell me any of this?"
"You never asked."
Gabriel stared at him.
Price quickly added, "And your father wanted the trust kept separate from your personal affairs."
"My father is dead."
"Yes."
"So is my wife."
Price looked away.
Gabriel noticed.
"What are you hiding?"
"Nothing."
"Look at me."
Price did.
Gabriel had known him for twenty years.
He knew immediately the man was lying.
"Did Julia speak to you before she died?"
Price remained silent.
"Leonard."
"Yes."
Gabriel's hands tightened.
"When?"
"About two weeks before the accident."
"What did she ask?"
"She wanted copies of the trust documents."
"Did you give them to her?"
"Yes."
"What else?"
Price took a breath.
"She asked what would happen if the children were declared legally incompetent."
Gabriel frowned.
"Why?"
"I don't know."
"Think."
Price looked toward the door.
"She believed someone was creating records about Lily."
"What kind of records?"
"Medical records."
Gabriel felt sick.
"Lily is healthy."
"I know."
"Then what records?"
"Julia said she had found psychiatric evaluations she never authorized."
Gabriel stared at him.
Price continued.
"They described Lily as unstable, delusional, prone to false accusations."
The meaning struck Gabriel immediately.
A little girl who filmed her aunt near a falling stroller.
A little girl who remembered secret keys and warnings.
A little girl who might one day accuse someone of hurting her mother.
Someone had already prepared a way to discredit her.
Gabriel picked up his phone.
"I want every medical file connected to Lily."
Price stopped him.
"There's more."
Gabriel turned.
Price removed a folded document from his briefcase.
"Julia gave me this."
Gabriel unfolded it.
It was a handwritten statement.
Julia's signature was at the bottom.
If I die unexpectedly, my husband must know that I believe someone is attempting to create a legal basis to remove him as guardian of our children.
Gabriel could barely continue reading.
I do not know whether Gabriel is involved.
He stopped.
The words blurred.
He looked at Price.
"She suspected me?"
Price said nothing.
Gabriel read the next line.
I pray that I am wrong.
For several seconds, Gabriel could not move.
His wife had been afraid enough to create secret evidence.
Afraid enough to hide documents behind a nursery wall.
Afraid enough to consider that her own husband might be part of it.
Then he saw the final sentence.
If Gabriel truly knows nothing, tell him to find Dr. Samuel Voss.
Gabriel looked at Price.
"Who is Samuel Voss?"
May you like
Price's answer made the room colder.
"The psychiatrist whose name is on Lily's evaluations."
