Chapter 7 - The Office With No Files.
Victor was awake before sunrise.
He had not truly slept.
Oliver had woken twice during the night, and both times Victor had carried him through the quiet nursery until his breathing settled.
Lily stayed in the guest room across the hall.
She did not enter unless Victor asked.
At six fifteen, Daniel called.
"We found Serena."
Victor stepped into the hallway and closed the nursery door behind him.
"Where?"
"At her brother's apartment."
"Is she still there?"
"No."
"Where did she go?"
"Unknown."
Victor stared through the tall window at the gray morning sky.
"And Grant?"
"Also gone."
"Together?"
"Possibly."
Victor rubbed one hand over his face.
"What about BrightPath?"
"I went there personally."
"And?"
Daniel exhaled.
"The office had been cleared out."
Victor's jaw tightened.
"Computers?"
"Gone."
"Paper files?"
"Gone."
"Security cameras?"
"The building manager says BrightPath removed its own equipment yesterday."
Victor thought of the timestamp on the camera permissions.
Two seventeen.
The living room argument had erupted less than an hour later.
"They were preparing before Serena came after Lily."
"That's my read."
Victor looked toward the guest-room door.
"Did you find anything?"
"One thing."
Daniel paused.
"A shipping label stuck behind a filing cabinet."
"For what?"
"A commercial storage facility in Queens."
Victor's attention sharpened.
"Whose name?"
"BrightPath Family Development."
"Can we access it?"
"Not legally without permission, a court order, or the account holder."
Victor nodded even though Daniel could not see him.
"Then we do this correctly."
"Agreed."
"Send everything to Evelyn Cross."
Evelyn was Victor's personal attorney.
She had represented him through acquisitions, estate planning, and the ugly probate fight after his father's death.
She also had a talent for removing emotion from a room without removing urgency.
"Already done," Daniel said.
Victor ended the call.
When he turned, Lily was standing in the guest-room doorway.
She wore borrowed sweatpants and a plain white shirt Marta had found for her.
Her cheek had darkened overnight.
"I'm sorry," she said.
"I didn't mean to listen."
"You live ten feet away from the nursery tonight."
Victor gave a tired half smile.
"Listening is unavoidable."
Lily's expression softened for half a second.
Then she looked toward Oliver's door.
"How is he?"
"Better."
"Did he wake?"
"Twice."
"He usually wants water around four."
Victor nodded.
"I discovered that."
Lily almost smiled.
"You also discovered he hates the green cup."
Victor looked at her.
"He threw it at me."
"That's how he expresses preferences."
The brief normality ended as quickly as it began.
Victor studied her face.
"Daniel found BrightPath's storage facility."
Lily went still.
"Where?"
"Queens."
Her eyes lowered.
"Claire lived in Queens."
Victor waited.
Lily seemed to be searching through memory.
"She had a storage unit after she left BrightPath."
"Did you ever go there?"
"No."
"Do you know which facility?"
"No."
Then Lily's expression changed.
She walked back into the guest room and returned with her handbag.
From an inside pocket, she removed an old leather key ring.
There were three keys on it.
"Claire gave me these before she died."
Victor's gaze settled on them.
"What are they for?"
"Her apartment."
Lily touched the first key.
"Her mailbox."
She touched the second.
Then she stared at the third.
"I never knew."
Victor looked at the small silver key.
A number was stamped into its head.
318.
Neither of them spoke.
Lily whispered, "I thought it was for an old desk."
Victor called Daniel back.
Forty minutes later, Daniel confirmed that the storage facility on BrightPath's shipping label had a unit numbered 318.
The account was not under BrightPath.
It was under Claire Bennett.
Lily sat down on the edge of the hallway bench.
"She kept it."
Victor crouched in front of her.
"We don't know that yet."
"She kept something."
Lily held the key so tightly that the metal pressed into her skin.
"Serena knew."
"Maybe."
"That's why she kept asking me."
Victor did not disagree.
At eight thirty, Evelyn Cross arrived at the mansion.
She wore a navy suit, carried two phones, and looked at Victor's unshaven face with open disapproval.
"You look terrible."
"Good morning to you too."
"I've had better mornings."
She turned to Lily.
"Ms. Hart, I'm Evelyn Cross."
Lily stood.
"I know who you are."
Evelyn glanced at her bruised cheek.
"I'm sorry for what happened."
"Thank you."
Evelyn placed a folder on the dining table.
"First things first."
She looked at Victor.
"Do not contact Serena directly."
"I haven't."
"Do not threaten Grant."
"I haven't."
"Do not send private security into a storage unit because you happen to own half the neighborhood."
Victor almost smiled.
"Daniel already stopped me."
"Daniel is earning his salary."
Evelyn opened the folder.
"The forged caregiver authorization is serious."
"Can we prove it was forged?"
"Your signature expert will compare it, but your calendar, device logs, and document system already help."
She turned a page.
"The invoices are more complicated."
"Why?"
"Because the household company paid them through a valid vendor channel."
"I never approved them."
"I believe you."
Evelyn looked at Daniel.
"But we need to determine who inside the office accepted BrightPath as a vendor."
Daniel said, "I'm auditing access now."
Evelyn nodded.
Then Lily placed Claire's storage key on the table.
Evelyn stared at it.
"What is that?"
Victor explained.
Evelyn's expression grew more serious with each sentence.
"Do not open the unit yet."
Lily looked disappointed.
"It's in my sister's name."
"Which may mean you have legal rights as next of kin, but we verify first."
Evelyn turned to Lily.
"Did Claire leave a will?"
"No."
"Who handled her estate?"
"I did."
"Then bring me the probate papers."
Lily nodded.
Her phone vibrated on the table.
She looked down.
The number was blocked.
The message contained only six words.
YOU SHOULD HAVE TAKEN THE MONEY.
Lily's face went white.
Victor stood.
"What is it?"
She turned the screen toward him.
A second message appeared before anyone could speak.
May you like
CLAIRE MADE THE SAME MISTAKE.
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