Chapter 3
The Black SUV At Loading Dock
Victor stared at the image until every detail burned into his mind.
Victoria's left hand held Lily.
Her right hand held Lily's pink coat, which meant the little girl had probably been cold.
Brutus was opening the rear door of the SUV.
"Run the vehicle," Victor said.
The investigator shook his head. "No plate. No visible VIN. The driver never gets out."
"Then find every camera between the garage entrance and that loading dock."
"Already doing it."
Victor looked toward Victoria through the glass.
She had stopped pretending to be relaxed.
Her fingers were moving under the table now, rubbing the gold ring on her right hand in a tight circle.
Victor knew that habit.
She did it when cornered.
He had once found it charming.
Now he wondered how many times he had mistaken panic for vulnerability.
A mall police sergeant allowed Victor to speak with her only after making it clear that the conversation would be recorded.
Victor sat across from his wife.
"Where were you taking Lily?"
Victoria's eyes filled immediately.
"I wasn't taking her anywhere."
"There's an SUV waiting."
"It belongs to a friend."
"Name the friend."
She hesitated.
One second.
Then two.
"Monica Hale."
Victor leaned back.
"Monica moved to Denver eight months ago."
Victoria's expression cracked.
"She was visiting."
"Her husband called me yesterday from Aspen. They were together."
Victoria looked away.
"Why are you doing this?"
Victor almost laughed.
Instead, he placed Lily's missing bracelet on the table between them.
Or rather, what remained of it.
Clara had found the broken clasp near the loading dock.
Victoria stared at it.
"Why did you take this off her?"
"It snagged on her sweater."
"Lily said you took it."
"She's two."
Victor felt his anger rise, but he kept his voice level.
"That's the second time today you've used her age as a reason nobody should believe her."
Victoria's eyes sharpened.
For a moment, the tears disappeared.
"You want to make me a monster because it makes this easier for you."
"Easier than what?"
"Admitting you haven't been present since Amelia died."
The name struck exactly where she intended.
Victor said nothing.
Victoria leaned forward.
"You work sixteen-hour days. You miss dinner. You miss bedtime. You let Grace raise your daughter while you sit in conference rooms pretending grief is a business problem."
Every accusation contained enough truth to hurt.
That was Victoria's gift.
She could hide a knife inside an honest sentence.
"Maybe I failed Lily," Victor said. "But that doesn't explain the SUV."
Victoria's mouth tightened.
"I was trying to protect her."
"From whom?"
She looked at the camera in the corner.
Then at the door.
Then back at Victor.
"You."
The word landed harder than he expected.
She reached into her handbag, but the officer standing nearby stopped her.
Victoria nodded toward the bag.
"There's an envelope inside. Give it to him."
The officer removed a sealed document sleeve and handed it to Victor.
Inside was a copy of a court filing.
PETITION FOR EMERGENCY GUARDIANSHIP OF MINOR CHILD.
Victor scanned the first page.
The petitioner was Victoria Morgan.
The allegations described him as emotionally unstable, chronically absent, reckless with Lily's safety, and unwilling to seek help after Amelia's death.
Attached were photographs.
Lily crying outside a restaurant.
Lily asleep in Grace's arms at a company gala.
Victor walking into an office while Grace carried Lily behind him.
Small moments stripped of context and arranged into something ugly.
"You filed this?"
"Not yet," Victoria said.
Victor turned to the signature page.
At the bottom was the name of a law firm he knew well.
Reid, Calloway & Moss.
His family's law firm.
His father's law firm.
And beside the draft signature line was a handwritten note.
WAIT UNTIL MONDAY'S BOARD VOTE.
Victor looked at Victoria.
"Who gave you this?"
She did not answer.
He looked again at the handwriting.
May you like
He had seen it every month for twelve years on financial reports.
It belonged to Daniel Morgan, his cousin and the chief financial officer of Morgan Holdings.
