Chapter 2 - the uniform in the basement
By sunset, the mansion no longer felt like a home.
Police moved through the entry hall.
A crime scene photographer documented the shattered wine glass, the lockbox, the documents, and Lily's uniform.
Dr. Elena Park examined Lily in her bedroom.
Arthur remained outside the door because the doctor gently asked him to give Lily privacy.
That request was harder to obey than any boardroom demand Arthur had ever faced.
He paced the hallway.
Marcus appeared from the staircase.
"We found the basement room."
Arthur stopped.
"What room?"
Marcus did not answer immediately.
That frightened Arthur.
"Show me."
They descended two floors.
Behind the wine cellar was a narrow service corridor Arthur rarely used.
A locked door stood at the end.
Marcus had already opened it.
Inside were Lily's toys.
Boxes of them.
Books.
Clothes.
Photographs.
Her rocking horse.
Her mother's jewelry case.
Arthur walked inside.
There was no organization.
Everything had been thrown together like unwanted property.
He found the framed photograph that had disappeared from Lily's nightstand.
Claire was holding Lily as a baby.
Arthur wiped dust from the glass with his sleeve.
"How did I not see this?"
Marcus remained silent.
Arthur turned.
"Tell me."
"Sir."
"Tell me how I lived in the same house and didn't see it."
Marcus exhaled.
"You were traveling more."
Arthur knew that.
Bennett Global had acquired two companies in Europe during the previous year.
Victoria had encouraged the expansion.
She had repeatedly told Arthur that Lily was adjusting well to boarding preparation programs, private tutors, and structured routines.
Arthur had believed her.
He had accepted photographs Victoria sent.
Lily at breakfast.
Lily doing homework.
Lily asleep.
Arthur suddenly remembered something.
The photographs almost never showed dates.
He looked around the basement room.
"What else?"
Marcus pointed toward a shelf.
Three gray uniforms were folded there.
Different sizes.
Arthur touched one.
"Lily has been wearing these for a while."
"It looks that way."
Arthur stared at the uniforms.
He remembered video calls with Lily.
She had often been wrapped in blankets or wearing pajamas.
Victoria always said Lily had just finished a bath.
It had been deliberate.
A system.
A way to hide what was happening.
Arthur's phone rang.
His attorney, Daniel Cole.
"I've reviewed the trust transfer you sent me."
Arthur stepped into the corridor.
"And?"
"It's sophisticated."
"That's not an answer."
"It's a forgery, but it's a good one. Whoever prepared it had access to internal Bennett legal templates."
Arthur looked at Marcus.
Claire's warning returned to him.
Someone inside your company.
"Who accessed those templates?"
"I'm checking."
"Do it quietly."
"There is something else."
Arthur waited.
Daniel continued.
"The transfer is dated six weeks ago."
Arthur frowned.
"I was in Zurich."
"Exactly."
"Victoria was with me for three days."
"Yes."
Arthur remembered.
Victoria had joined him unexpectedly.
She said she missed him.
She stayed at his hotel.
Two dinners.
One charity gala.
Then she returned to New York.
Daniel spoke again.
"The document says you signed it in Manhattan."
Arthur looked toward the basement room.
"So someone forged the signature while they knew I had a perfect alibi."
"That is either stupidity or confidence."
Arthur understood.
"They didn't expect me to challenge it."
"Correct."
Dr. Park called from upstairs.
Arthur returned immediately.
The doctor closed Lily's bedroom door behind her.
Her expression was controlled.
"She is dehydrated."
Arthur's chest tightened.
"How badly?"
"Not dangerously now. She is underweight compared with her last examination. She has irritation on her hands consistent with repeated exposure to strong cleaning products."
Arthur looked away.
Dr. Park continued.
"There are no major injuries. But emotionally, Arthur, she is frightened."
"Of Victoria."
"Of making adults angry."
Arthur closed his eyes.
"I did this."
"No. But you need to understand that Lily has been taught to associate mistakes with punishment and silence with safety."
Arthur swallowed.
"What do I do?"
"You believe her."
"I do."
"You keep proving it."
Detective Mitchell approached.
"Mr. Bennett."
Arthur faced her.
"We need to talk about Mrs. Bennett."
Arthur glanced toward Lily's door.
"Here?"
"Not in front of your daughter."
They walked into Arthur's study.
Mitchell closed the door.
"We've reviewed the initial documents. There's enough for us to continue investigating possible financial crimes. Regarding Lily, we're documenting everything. Your wife denies abuse."
"Of course she does."
"She says the uniform was part of a punishment after Lily damaged an expensive vase."
Arthur stared at the detective.
Mitchell raised a hand.
"I'm telling you her statement, not saying I believe it."
Arthur nodded.
"She also claims the trust documents were given to her by you."
"They weren't."
"We'll verify that."
Arthur placed Claire's letter on the desk.
"Read this."
Mitchell did.
Her expression sharpened when she reached the paragraphs about Claire's illness.
"Do you believe your first wife was harmed?"
"I don't know what I believe anymore."
"Do you still have her medical records?"
"Everything."
"We may need them."
Arthur looked through the study window toward the darkening grounds.
Claire had died four years ago.
He had buried her.
He had mourned her.
Then he had forced himself to keep living because Lily needed a father.
Now he was being asked to consider that Claire's death might not have been what everyone thought.
Mitchell placed the letter down.
"Do not confront anyone at your company yet."
Arthur turned.
"You think this is real."
"I think someone created a forged document using internal templates. That alone means you have a serious problem."
Arthur's phone vibrated.
A message from Daniel Cole.
One name.
Russell Crane.
Arthur stared at it.
Russell was Bennett Global's deputy general counsel.
He had worked for Arthur for eleven years.
He had attended Claire's funeral.
May you like
He had stood beside Arthur while Lily placed a white rose on her mother's coffin.
And according to Daniel's access logs, Russell Crane had downloaded the trust template six weeks ago.
