Chapter 6 - The Forensic Trail
By Monday morning, the full scale of Julian and Vanessa’s betrayal was laid bare in the financial press. The freeze on Cross Enterprises had triggered a default on three of their major commercial developments, and the board of directors had voted unanimously to strip Julian of his CEO title before the market opened.
I sat at the kitchen island of my Boston townhouse, a warm cup of herbal tea in my hands. The house felt different now—empty of Julian’s heavy, critical presence, but filled with the light, sweet sound of Maya coloring at the small table by the window.
Marcus stood by the counter, sorting through the forensic audit files. "They were planning to leave the country, Clara. We found two one-way tickets to Zurich booked for the day after your scheduled C-section. They were going to take the trust money and use the forged medical papers to try and take the baby with them, leaving Maya behind with Julian’s mother."
My hand shook as I set my tea down. "They were going to abandon Maya?"
"Yes," Marcus said quietly. "Julian didn't want the financial liability of a child from his first marriage. He only wanted the trust fund. If Maya hadn't kept that rabbit, they would have succeeded."
May you like
I looked over at Maya, who was carefully drawing a picture of a big yellow house with two trees and three stick figures—one with a very round belly.
"They underestimated her," I said, a cold certainty settling into my bones. "And they underestimated what a mother will do to protect her children."
