Chapter 5 - Friday Afternoon
Friday arrived with bright sunlight and a cloudless sky.
Lily and Ethan remained safely with Rachel. Sarah had already filed emergency legal documents protecting Emily’s known assets, but Daniel had not yet been notified.
The court process required time.
Daniel did not intend to give Emily any.
At two in the afternoon, he called and ordered her to return to the penthouse.
“Vanessa will be there,” he said.
“Why?”
“She’s a witness.”
“To what?”
“To your decision.”
Emily contacted Sarah before entering the building.
Sarah told her not to go upstairs alone.
Emily agreed.
Then the private elevator opened, and Daniel was waiting in the lobby.
He took her phone before she could react.
“You won’t need distractions.”
“Give it back.”
“We’re having a family conversation.”
“There is no family conversation that includes Vanessa.”
Daniel gripped her phone and stepped inside the elevator.
Emily should have walked away.
She knew that later.
At the time, she thought about the original custody papers upstairs and the documents Marcus still needed to examine.
She also believed the building staff could hear her if she called for help.
She entered the elevator.
Unknown to Daniel, her smartwatch remained connected to emergency services. Emily had configured it days earlier after Sarah expressed concern about Daniel’s behavior.
Inside the penthouse, Vanessa stood beside the kitchen island wearing a red evening dress.
The dress felt like a declaration.
She was no longer pretending to be an employee.
A black suitcase rested beside the sofa.
Emily recognized several of Daniel’s shirts folded inside.
“You’re moving her in?”
Daniel placed Emily’s phone on the island.
“Sit down.”
“No.”
He pointed toward the documents on the coffee table.
“Sign them.”
Emily read the first page.
The agreement had changed.
It now required her to leave the penthouse immediately. Daniel would receive full control of the children’s residence, education, and medical decisions.
“You can’t seriously believe I’ll agree to this.”
Vanessa picked up a pen.
“It will be easier if you do.”
Emily stared at her.
“You have no place in decisions about my children.”
“I will when they live with us.”
Emily turned to Daniel.
“Does she honestly believe you’re giving her my home?”
Daniel’s jaw tightened.
“It will no longer be your home.”
“It belonged to my father.”
“You used marital funds to maintain it.”
“My inheritance paid for your company.”
Daniel swept the documents from the table.
“You always do this. You turn every conversation into an attack.”
Emily moved toward her phone.
Daniel blocked her path.
“Move.”
“Sign first.”
“No.”
A chair struck the back of Emily’s legs when Daniel kicked it aside. She lost her balance and dropped to one knee.
Her smartwatch vibrated.
The fall detection system activated.
Daniel did not notice.
“Stay away from me,” Emily said.
He walked toward the decorative cabinet near the fireplace and took out a small wooden mallet that had been displayed beside an antique auction plaque.
Vanessa’s eyes widened.
“Daniel, don’t be stupid.”
“I’m not going to touch her.”
He raised the mallet.
“I’m going to make her understand.”
Emily crouched beside the coffee table, protecting her stomach.
Then she saw the blue light beneath the glass.
Lily’s missing tablet.
The device that Daniel had searched for after realizing it contained recordings.
He must have hidden it beneath the table intending to destroy it after Emily signed.
Instead, the recording application was still running.
May you like
Emily reached for it.
That single movement changed everything.
