Chapter 6 - FIRE IN THE NURSERY Fire consumed the nursery wing before midnight.
Smoke poured from the windows.
Firefighters rushed through the mansion while investigators evacuated the remaining staff.
Victor tried to enter.
Marco stopped him.
“Ethan isn't there.”
Victor froze.
“Where is he?”
“The hospital.”
Only then did Victor breathe.
But the crib had been destroyed.
Or so they thought.
Firefighters found part of it buried beneath collapsed timber.
Inside one wooden rail was a hidden compartment.
A waterproof metal tube.
Inside:
A ledger.
A USB drive.
Three keys.
The evidence had survived.
The nursery had not.
Victor opened the ledger.
Names filled page after page.
Doctors.
Accountants.
Security officers.
Investigators.
A judge.
Charity directors.
People Victor had trusted.
Then he saw one name.
Anthony Blackwood.
His uncle.
The man who had raised him after his father's death.
Marco opened the financial records.
Anthony had been receiving money from Serena for months.
Then the USB revealed videos.
Seven separate recordings.
Serena hurting Ethan.
Dragging him.
Pinching him.
Withholding food.
Sedating him.
Mrs. Vale appeared in several.
Victor watched without moving.
When the final video ended, his face was empty.
Then his phone rang.
Serena.
He answered.
“Did you find your dead wife?”
Victor said nothing.
“You found a copy of the ledger,” Serena continued.
“The original?”
A pause.
“The original contains your name too.”
Victor's eyes narrowed.
“What did I sign?”
“The clinic.”
“The security.”
“The foundation.”
“You paid for everything.”
Her voice softened.
“You may not have known the room.”
Then she whispered:
“But you paid for the lock.”
The call ended.
Victor stared at the phone.
For years, he had believed money protected his family.
Now he understood.
Money had also built the walls around the people he loved.
Then Marco's phone buzzed.
His face changed.
“Sir.”
May you like
“What?”
“Someone tried to access Ethan's hospital room.”
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