Chapter 10 - The Second Child)
Natalie replayed the file four times.
Nothing followed Anna's final sentence.
No hidden metadata.
No second recording.
No explanation.
"The second child could mean anything," Natalie said.
Daniel paced her office.
"Anna only had Lucas."
"That you know of."
"She would have told me."
"You also believed she died in a car crash."
Daniel stopped.
Megan touched his hand.
"Could she have been pregnant?"
Daniel shook his head.
"Not when she disappeared."
"Could Lucas have a sibling through his father?"
"Then why would that child be connected to the Bennett trust?"
Natalie leaned back.
"Unless Anna wasn't talking about her own child."
Megan frowned.
"Another descendant."
"Exactly."
Daniel looked at her.
"Victor?"
"Possibly."
Daniel had spent the morning investigating the uncle he had been told did not exist.
Victor Bennett had vanished from business records thirteen years earlier.
No obituary.
No death certificate.
No recent address.
His old corporate ownership had been transferred to Richard through a private settlement.
"Richard got Victor's shares too," Megan said.
Natalie nodded.
"Your father consolidated nearly everything within eighteen months."
"Anna dies. Victor disappears. Lucas gets hidden. Dad gets control."
"When summarized like that, it is concerning."
"Concerning?"
"I'm a lawyer. We use boring words for terrifying things."
Daniel almost smiled.
Then Megan's phone rang.
Rachel.
"Hey."
"Megan, are you with Daniel?"
"Yes."
"Turn on the news."
A local station showed Richard Bennett standing outside Bennett Industries.
A reporter spoke about the recent fire.
Then Richard began.
"My son is experiencing an emotional crisis related to unresolved grief over his sister's tragic death."
Daniel stared at the screen.
Richard continued.
"Unfortunately, certain people around Daniel appear to be encouraging paranoid accusations during a vulnerable period."
Megan felt heat rise in her face.
"He means me."
"Yes," Natalie said.
A reporter asked whether Richard believed Megan was manipulating Daniel.
Richard paused perfectly.
"I would never attack my daughter-in-law publicly."
Natalie laughed.
"That means yes."
Richard continued.
"But my first responsibility is protecting my son, my granddaughter, our employees, and the legacy generations of Bennetts worked to build."
Megan's jaw tightened.
Then another reporter shouted, "Is Daniel using drugs?"
Daniel froze.
Richard looked saddened.
"I am not discussing private medical matters."
The broadcast cut back to the studio.
Megan turned it off.
"He just implied you're unstable and on drugs."
Natalie was already typing.
"He is establishing a narrative."
"For what?"
"Potentially corporate removal. Potentially custody pressure. Potentially both."
Megan thought of Sophie's face.
"No."
Daniel looked at her.
"They aren't taking our daughter."
"They don't have grounds."
Natalie's answer was immediate.
"Grounds can be manufactured."
Silence.
Megan understood then why Anna had written that papers kept disappearing.
Why Richard had called her unstable.
Why a private medical facility had accepted a living woman under false records.
Power did not require truth.
Only documents.
Witnesses.
Money.
And enough people willing to look away.
That evening Megan noticed Sophie refusing dinner.
Not just refusing.
Fear.
The little girl stared at the bowl and shook her head.
"No."
Megan crouched beside her.
"It's okay."
Sophie began crying.
"No bowl."
Megan's heart broke.
Evelyn had not merely shouted at her.
Something else had happened before.
Megan lifted Sophie.
"What did Grandma do?"
Sophie buried her face against Megan.
"No bowl."
Daniel stood in the doorway.
His expression changed.
Megan whispered, "This isn't the first time."
They reviewed old photographs from the weeks in the Bennett home.
Several showed faint bruises on Sophie's wrist.
Megan had assumed they came from climbing.
Now she was not sure.
They checked the baby monitor cloud archive.
Most recordings had automatically deleted after seven days.
Except one.
Megan had saved it weeks earlier because Sophie had said "Mama" clearly.
The video started at 1:14 p.m.
Sophie was in her crib.
Evelyn entered.
She believed the monitor was off.
Megan pressed play.
Evelyn leaned over the crib.
"You are going to stop crying when I tell you."
Sophie cried harder.
Evelyn grabbed her wrist.
Daniel stepped closer to the screen.
Then Richard entered the room.
Megan expected him to stop his wife.
Instead, he closed the door.
The recording continued.
Richard said quietly,
"Don't leave marks where Megan can see them."
Daniel sat down.
No one spoke for several seconds.
Then his phone rang.
Unknown number.
He answered.
A young male voice said,
"You finally saw what they are."
Daniel stood.
"Lucas?"
Silence.
"Lucas, please."
The boy's breathing was audible.
May you like
Then he said,
"Meet me alone if you want to know what happened to my mother."
