Chapter 9 - Project Orchard)
Project Orchard was not a financial file.
It was a custody file.
Conrad learned that the next morning.
Detective Santos obtained a warrant to search Julian's office after his arrest.
Inside a locked cabinet, investigators found a folder labeled ORCHARD.
The earliest document was dated five months before Elliot's birth.
Conrad read it inside the conference room of the Burlington police station.
A private investigator had been hired to follow Conrad.
Photographs showed him leaving restaurants.
Board meetings.
Airports.
Hotels.
Nothing compromising.
That had apparently been the problem.
Agatha had wanted evidence that her son was irresponsible.
Instead, the investigator found a man who worked too much and went home when he finished.
Another report focused on Celeste.
Medical appointments.
Friends.
Shopping.
Charitable work.
Again, nothing.
Then the tone changed after Elliot was born.
A psychological consultant had prepared a speculative report describing Conrad as a "high functioning absentee parent" despite never meeting him.
A second document outlined strategies for establishing Agatha as Elliot's primary caregiver.
Samuel read silently.
"This is disgusting."
Conrad turned pages.
Recommended actions.
Increase overnight care by grandmother.
Control childcare staff.
Document father's business travel.
Record emotional instability following spouse illness.
Encourage child dependency on grandmother.
Create concerns regarding father's unpredictable temper.
Conrad stopped.
"Create concerns."
Samuel looked at him.
The garden incident.
Julian's police complaint.
Agatha claiming fear.
Every provocation suddenly carried another possibility.
Were they trying to create exactly the record they needed?
Detective Santos entered.
"We found something on Julian's phone."
She placed it on the table.
A recovered message exchange between Julian and Agatha.
Dated two weeks earlier.
Julian: Conrad will be in Manhattan through Thursday.
Agatha: Good. Elliot is becoming defiant.
Julian: Push harder.
Agatha: He cries to Conrad on video calls.
Julian: Then stop the calls when he's upset.
Agatha: Conrad notices.
Julian: Let him. We need examples of the boy being unstable around him.
Conrad's hands tightened.
Another exchange.
Agatha: Elliot found the greenhouse door again.
Julian: Keep him away from the service garden.
Agatha: I will deal with him.
Julian: Do not leave marks.
Conrad stood so quickly the chair hit the wall.
Samuel rose.
"Conrad."
Santos did not move.
"Sit down."
Conrad stared at the phone.
"Do not leave marks."
Santos repeated.
"Sit."
He did.
Barely.
She continued.
"Julian is asking for counsel. He's not cooperating."
"Good."
"Agatha's attorney contacted us."
Conrad looked up.
"She wants immunity?"
"Not exactly."
"What?"
Santos almost smiled.
"She wants to blame Julian."
Samuel leaned back.
"That was fast."
Santos nodded.
"Her attorney claims Julian manipulated an elderly woman emotionally and financially."
Conrad laughed.
"My mother chained a four year old herself."
"I mentioned that."
"What did he say?"
"That she was under extreme psychological pressure."
Samuel rubbed his forehead.
"Of course."
Conrad looked at Santos.
"Do you believe her?"
"I believe people become very creative when accounts freeze."
The Albany storage unit was opened that afternoon.
Conrad did not enter first.
Police photographed everything.
Then investigators cataloged twelve boxes.
Celeste had been meticulous.
Bank statements.
Trust documents.
Audio recordings.
Photographs.
Printed emails.
Corporate ledgers.
A handwritten timeline.
And Agatha's notebook.
Conrad recognized the leather cover.
His mother used to carry it everywhere.
He remembered seeing it beside her plate at breakfast.
Inside were years of entries.
Not diary entries.
Transactions.
JM tuition 42,000.
JM apartment 110,000.
JM debt 280,000.
JM North Vale capital 600,000.
The initials appeared again and again.
Julian Mercer.
Then, beginning around the time Dominic became ill, another category appeared.
C.
Private investigator.
C travel schedule.
C emotional profile.
E childcare.
E school contact.
E medical.
E inheritance.
Samuel pointed to a later note.
"If C resists, use guardianship."
Conrad stared.
His mother had planned his son's custody like a corporate acquisition.
Santos turned another page.
A sentence was underlined twice.
E must learn that family loyalty is obedience.
Conrad closed the notebook.
He could not read more.
Then Elias, standing near the storage entrance, spoke.
"There should be a blue box."
Investigators searched.
No blue box.
Elias became agitated.
"Celeste put it here herself."
"What was inside?" Santos asked.
"Original video backups."
"Backups of what?"
"The west room. Meetings. Conversations."
Santos looked at the inventory.
"Nothing blue."
Conrad turned toward Elias.
"Could Julian have taken it?"
"No. Only I had the key."
"Anyone else?"
Elias hesitated.
"Celeste."
"She's dead."
"And Dominic."
"Also dead."
Samuel looked at the lock.
"No forced entry."
Santos asked the storage manager for access records.
They were digital.
One entry had occurred seven months earlier.
Authorized keyholder.
Elias stared.
"I wasn't here."
The security camera archive from that date still existed.
The manager pulled it up.
A woman entered the facility wearing sunglasses and a dark coat.
She carried a key.
She knew exactly where she was going.
The image was grainy.
But Conrad recognized her.
So did Samuel.
Mrs. Hart.
The Bellafonte housekeeper.
The woman currently caring for Elliot.
Conrad grabbed his phone.
No answer.
He called estate security.
"Find Mrs. Hart."
The guard responded.
A moment later his voice changed.
"Sir."
Conrad's stomach dropped.
"What?"
"Mrs. Hart left the estate thirty minutes ago."
"With who?"
The silence lasted too long.
Conrad already knew.
"With Elliot."
The storage unit seemed to tilt around him.
He heard Samuel swear.
Detective Santos reached for her radio.
May you like
Conrad's voice became almost unrecognizable.
"Find my son."
