Chapter 14 - Under the Crib
Sarah returned to the mansion with police.
Leo's crib looked ordinary.
She removed the mattress.
Nothing.
Then Maria remembered Caroline ordering a custom wooden base after Leo was born.
They unscrewed it.
A thin waterproof envelope was taped underneath.
Inside was a memory card.
Ethan arrived as Sarah inserted it into an offline laptop.
A video opened.
Caroline sat in the nursery holding newborn Leo.
She looked tired.
But calm.
"If you're seeing this, someone found the notebook."
Ethan sat down.
Caroline smiled faintly at the camera.
"Good. Sarah notices everything."
Sarah covered her mouth.
Caroline continued.
"Margaret Sloan and Henry Collins are the center of the old cover-up. Victoria Vale is angry, but I don't think she understands who she's working for."
Victoria watched remotely from custody.
Her eyes filled.
"Daniel may know more. He is reckless, but he still loves his sister."
Daniel stared at the floor.
Then Caroline's tone changed.
"I am creating a protected trust for Leo because I no longer trust the foundation board."
Ethan glanced at Nathan.
That explained the hidden $42.6 million.
Caroline looked directly into the camera.
"And Ethan, if they try to make you look unstable, remember this: grief is not incompetence."
Ethan broke.
Not loudly.
Just one breath that turned into tears he could not stop.
Sarah looked away to give him dignity.
Caroline's last words were simple.
"Come home sooner than you think you need to."
The video ended.
Ethan sat beside Leo's crib.
Detective Chen entered.
"Margaret is in custody."
"Collins?"
"Charged."
"Lang?"
"Cooperating."
"Daniel?"
"Also cooperating."
Ethan looked toward Victoria's video screen.
"And her?"
Chen said, "That depends on the prosecutor. The footage with Leo is clear."
Victoria lowered her head.
"I deserve whatever happens."
Then she looked at Sarah.
"But Collins kept other recordings."
"What recordings?"
Victoria swallowed.
"Videos from inside this house."
Ethan's face hardened.
"Of what?"
"Of Sarah."
Sarah froze.
Victoria continued.
"He said if I ever needed to destroy her, he had enough to make Ethan believe she was stealing from him."
Chen asked, "Where?"
Victoria whispered:
"In the clock above the nursery door."
Sarah slowly looked up.
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The old brass clock had been hanging there since before Leo was born.
And its second hand was moving backward.
