Victoria laughed.
“You can’t be serious.”
“Daniel, call the police.”
Her smile vanished.
“Richard, think carefully about what you’re doing.”
“I am.”
“You’ll destroy our marriage over a child’s exaggeration?”
Richard gently set Maya on the sofa beside him.
Then turned back toward his wife.
“Our marriage ended the moment you put your hands on my daughter.”
Victoria grabbed her handbag.
“You’ll regret this.”
But before she reached the door, Daniel spoke.
“Sir, there’s another recording.”
Richard looked at him.
“What recording?”
Daniel hesitated.
“One from this morning.”
Victoria stopped walking.
Her shoulders stiffened.
“Don’t,” she whispered.
Richard turned slowly.
“What did you say?”
Victoria faced him.
“Richard, please. We can discuss this privately.”
Daniel looked uncomfortable.
“Sir, I think you should see it.”
Richard nodded.
“Play it.”
The screen showed the upstairs hallway at 9:16 a.m.
Victoria entered carrying a telephone.
She stopped outside Richard’s private study.
Then began speaking.
The microphone captured every word.
“He still hasn’t signed the revised trust documents.”
Richard froze.
Victoria listened.
Then laughed softly.
“Don’t worry. I’ll make sure the girl becomes a problem he can’t ignore.”
Richard felt his stomach tighten.
The voice on the other end was faint.
But one sentence was unmistakable.
“Remember, Victoria. Without the child, the inheritance becomes much easier.”
Richard slowly looked up.
“Who were you talking to?”
Victoria said nothing.
Daniel paused the recording.
Then spoke.
“Sir, that’s not the worst part.”
Richard’s hands tightened.
“What could possibly be worse?”
Daniel opened the camera access records.
“The upstairs system was manually activated before the incident.”
“By whom?”
Daniel hesitated.
Then turned the tablet around.
A name appeared beside the activation time.
EMILY BENNETT.
Richard stared.
His deceased wife’s name.
His blood turned cold.
“That’s impossible.”
Daniel nodded.
“Mrs. Emily Bennett’s security credentials were never deleted after her death.”
Richard looked toward Maya.
His daughter sat silently, clutching her stuffed rabbit.
“Sweetheart,” he asked gently, “did you turn on the camera?”
Maya shook her head.
“No, Daddy.”
“Then who did?”
She looked toward Daniel.
Then whispered:
“The lady who looks like Mommy.”
The room fell completely silent.
Richard felt the floor disappear beneath him.
“What lady?”
Maya lowered her eyes.
“She came to my room last night.”
Victoria suddenly stepped forward.
“Richard, she’s making things up!”
Daniel moved between them.
“Ma’am, please stay where you are.”
Richard knelt beside his daughter.
“Maya, tell me about the lady.”
Her voice trembled.
“She said Mommy left something for me.”
Richard swallowed.
“What did she leave?”
Maya reached into the pocket of her dress.
And removed a small silver key.
Richard recognized it immediately.
Emily had worn that key around her neck for years.
It belonged to a locked cabinet inside her old art studio.
After her death, Richard had sealed the room.
He couldn’t bear to enter it.
“Where did you get this?” he whispered.
“The lady gave it to me.”
“What did she look like?”
Maya studied his face.
“She had Mommy’s eyes.”
Richard’s heart hammered.
Daniel cleared his throat.
“Sir, there’s something I’ve been trying to verify.”
Richard turned.
“What?”
“Three weeks ago, someone accessed the estate using Mrs. Emily Bennett’s old security code.”
Richard stared.
“You knew?”
“I thought it was a system error. Then I checked the visitor logs.”
Daniel opened another file.
A photograph appeared.
It showed a woman entering the property through the garden gate.
She wore a dark coat.
Her face was partly hidden beneath a scarf.
But Richard recognized her immediately.
Not Emily.
Someone else.
“Charlotte?”
Daniel nodded.
“Charlotte Hayes.”
Emily’s identical twin sister.
The woman Richard hadn’t seen since his wife’s funeral.
