Chapter 13 - The Phone Behind the Wall
Ramirez found the hidden phone exactly where Lily said it would be.
Behind a removable panel in the back of her toy closet.
Victoria had turned it off but not wiped it.
Leon Park copied the device under police supervision.
The messages began eighteen months earlier.
VICTORIA: He still trusts me.
MASON: Keep it that way until we control the proxy.
VICTORIA: Lily is the harder part.
MASON: Kids repeat what adults teach them.
Daniel read the line three times.
Another thread discussed sedatives.
VICTORIA: He only needs enough to look unstable.
MASON: Never enough for a hospital.
Then came the message that made Rebecca stop breathing.
MASON: Hannah almost ruined everything once. We are not making that mistake twice.
Daniel looked at Ramirez.
“Is that enough?”
“It’s enough for warrants,” Ramirez said. “Not enough yet to prove who intended what three years ago.”
The phone also contained financial records.
Larkspur Advisory had sent money to Mason, Victoria, and a company connected to a Morgan board member.
Rebecca pointed at the name.
“Gerald Pike.”
Daniel’s stomach dropped.
Pike chaired the board’s governance committee.
He was also leading the emergency vote to remove Daniel as CEO.
The next morning, Daniel walked into the board meeting with Rebecca and two federal investigators.
Gerald Pike began, “Daniel, this is highly inappropriate.”
Daniel placed copies of the transfers on the table.
“So is taking stolen company money.”
Nobody moved.
Pike’s face turned gray.
Within minutes, the meeting collapsed into lawyers, denials, and agents asking questions.
Then Daniel’s phone buzzed.
A security alert from Lily’s school.
AUTHORIZED PICKUP COMPLETED.
Daniel stared at the screen.
Lily was supposed to remain at Naomi’s secured child center until he picked her up.
He called immediately.
Naomi answered breathless.
“Daniel, someone sent a court order saying Victoria had emergency custody.”
“What?”
“It looked real.”
Daniel’s blood went cold.
“Where is Lily?”
May you like
Naomi’s voice broke.
“She’s gone.”
