Chapter 5 - THE TRUST
By sunrise, Damian had summoned his attorney.
Rebecca Cole arrived at the hospital wearing yesterday’s suit beneath a gray coat.
She listened without interrupting.
The recordings.
The medication.
Dr. Crane.
The guardianship assessment.
Noah’s strange words.
When Damian finished, Rebecca set her coffee down untouched.
“There’s something you need to understand.”
“I’m listening.”
“Sofia’s estate plan wasn’t simple.”
Damian frowned.
“I know.”
“No. You know the version that became active after her death.”
Emma remained near the window with Noah.
Damian sat across from Rebecca.
“What version didn’t become active?”
Rebecca removed a file.
“Three months before Sofia died, she amended the Hawthorne family trust.”
Damian stared at her.
“You never told me.”
“I didn’t know until this morning.”
“That makes no sense.”
“The amendment was deposited with an outside fiduciary firm under sealed instructions.”
Rebecca pushed the document toward him.
“It became discoverable only if someone filed a petition questioning your fitness as Noah’s guardian.”
Damian read the page.
Emma watched his eyes narrow.
“What happens if such a petition succeeds?”
Rebecca took a breath.
“Voting control of Sofia’s shares transfers temporarily to Noah’s court-appointed guardian.”
Damian looked up.
“How many shares?”
“Twenty-eight percent of Hawthorne Holdings.”
Emma understood immediately.
It wasn’t just custody.
It was power.
Damian already controlled thirty-four percent directly.
Noah’s trust controlled twenty-eight.
Together, father and son effectively dominated the company.
Separate them—
and Damian could lose control.
Rebecca continued.
“If an alternate guardian gained authority over Noah’s trust, that person could swing the board.”
“Victoria.”
“If the Crane assessment were accepted.”
Damian stood.
“So she wasn’t trying to become Noah’s mother.”
Rebecca shook her head.
“She may have been trying to become his shareholder proxy.”
The room fell silent.
Emma felt sick.
Everything suddenly looked different.
The wedding.
The medication.
Victoria provoking Noah.
The camera outages.
If she could establish a record showing Damian’s household was dangerous…
If she could blame Emma…
If Damian could be portrayed as negligent…
Victoria could present herself as the stable alternative.
Damian looked at Rebecca.
“How close was she?”
Rebecca’s silence answered first.
“A petition was drafted yesterday.”
Damian went still.
“Filed?”
“Not yet.”
“Who drafted it?”
“A family-law attorney named Charles Voss.”
Damian knew him.
He had represented the Sinclair family for years.
“When was it supposed to be filed?”
Rebecca swallowed.
“Monday.”
The day after Damian and Victoria’s wedding.
Emma whispered—
“Once she became his wife.”
Rebecca nodded.
“She would have had a stronger argument.”
Damian walked to the window.
The city below was waking.
Cars moving.
People drinking coffee.
Ordinary lives beginning ordinary mornings.
Inside the hospital room, someone had just explained that his engagement might have been part of an operation to separate him from his child and seize control of his company.
Rebecca closed the file.
“There’s another problem.”
Damian laughed once without humor.
“Of course there is.”
“The petition includes witness statements.”
“From whom?”
“Household staff.”
Emma turned.
Rebecca looked at her.
“Three employees claim Emma has been rough with Noah.”
Emma stared.
“That’s a lie.”
“I believe you.”
“Who?”
Rebecca hesitated.
“The night nurse.”
Emma’s face changed.
“She resigned two months ago.”
“The assistant chef.”
“He barely sees Noah.”
“And Mrs. Hargrove.”
That name struck harder.
Eleanor Hargrove had managed the Hawthorne household for twenty-one years.
She had served Damian’s parents.
She had attended Sofia’s funeral.
She had helped choose Noah’s first crib.
Damian’s voice became quiet.
“Hargrove signed a statement against Emma?”
“Yes.”
Emma sat down slowly.
Mrs. Hargrove had warned her about Victoria.
Twice.
Why would she testify for her?
Damian looked toward the door.
“Where is Hargrove now?”
Rebecca checked her phone.
“At the mansion.”
Damian called Vincent.
No answer.
He called again.
Nothing.
Damian’s expression sharpened.
He tried the estate security desk.
No answer.
Emma stood.
“Something’s wrong.”
Then her own phone rang.
Unknown number.
She looked at Damian.
He nodded.
Emma answered.
“Hello?”
Nothing.
Then breathing.
Slow.
Weak.
A woman whispered—
“Emma?”
Emma recognized the voice.
“Mrs. Hargrove?”
A sob.
“I’m sorry.”
“Where are you?”
“I didn’t have a choice.”
Emma’s heart pounded.
“What did they make you do?”
“I signed it.”
“We know.”
“I tried to warn you.”
“Who threatened you?”
Silence.
Then Mrs. Hargrove whispered—
“Don’t trust the people who were here before Victoria.”
The call ended.
Damian stared at Emma.
“She said not to trust who?”
Emma swallowed.
“The people who were here before Victoria.”
Damian slowly looked down at his phone.
May you like
Vincent still had not answered.
And for the first time since the nightmare began, Damian realized the conspiracy had started long before his fiancée ever entered his house.
