Chapter 9 - The Script
The fake police report was frightening because most of it used real facts.
Elena had argued with Victoria about Leo's safety.
She had entered Marcus's office without permission.
She was deeply attached to the baby.
Grant had twisted each fact until it looked like motive.
A statement attributed to Marcus said he feared Elena was "too emotionally attached" to Leo.
"I never said this," Marcus said.
Then he remembered telling Grant, She's protective. Sometimes too protective.
Elena looked at him. "That's how they do it. They don't invent your life. They rearrange it."
Brooks searched Pike's drive.
A crisis-management firm called Northline Strategies appeared throughout the records.
Marcus knew the name. "Victoria hired them after Amelia died."
Rachel shook her head. "They were being paid before Amelia died."
One invoice read:
REPUTATIONAL CONTAINMENT - A.H.
Another memo contained a chilling sentence:
If subject becomes unavailable, widow-transition protocol activates immediately.
Marcus went pale.
The calendar showed Victoria meeting Grant the day after Amelia's funeral.
Six weeks later, she had "accidentally" met Marcus at a charity dinner.
His phone rang.
The hospital.
"Leo is stable," the doctor said. "But we found something in his blood."
Marcus gripped the table. "What?"
"A sedating medication. Low dose, but it wasn't given by us."
May you like
Elena closed her eyes.
For weeks, Leo had been unusually hard to wake after dinner.
