Chapter 2: The Woman Behind the Perfect Smile
Tristan read the message twice.
Then he stood.
Audrey looked up from the small chair beside Maisie's bed.
"Is something wrong?""
"Stay with my daughter.""
"Of course.""
"Don't let anyone in unless it's Dr. Morgan or me.""
Audrey noticed the way he said it.
Not even Veronica.
Tristan slipped his phone into his jacket and walked toward the door.
Before leaving, he looked back at the sleeping child.
Maisie's fingers were still curled around the stuffed rabbit.
He bent down and kissed her forehead.
"I promise, sweetheart.""
Then he walked out.
The security room was located beneath the west wing, behind two reinforced doors.
Tristan entered without knocking.
His head of security, Marcus Reed, stood beside a bank of monitors. At forty-six, Marcus had worked for the Vale family for more than twenty years. He rarely showed emotion.
Tonight, however, his face was unusually tense.
"Show me.""
Marcus pressed a button.
The screen displayed the basement corridor.
At 6:12 p.m., Veronica appeared.
She wore the same emerald gown she'd worn to dinner.
In one hand, she held a small silver key.
In the other, she carried Maisie's stuffed rabbit.
Tristan's jaw tightened.
The footage continued.
Veronica opened the basement door.
She looked down the corridor before entering.
Thirty seconds later, she came back upstairs alone.
Then she locked the door.
Tristan stared at the screen.
"Play it again.""
Marcus did.
This time, Tristan noticed something.
Veronica hadn't simply opened the door and walked inside.
She had bent down.
She had spoken to someone.
And when she emerged, she was holding the little rabbit.
"Enhance the audio.""
Marcus adjusted the recording.
Static filled the room.
Then Veronica's voice emerged.
"Stop crying. Your father doesn't have time for you.""
A small voice answered.
"I want Daddy.""
"Your father has important people coming tonight. You always ruin things.""
"I didn't do anything.""
"Then prove it. Stay quiet until I come back.""
The recording continued.
Veronica closed the door.
A lock clicked.
Tristan stepped away from the monitor.
His hands were clenched.
"Who was the second person?""
Marcus changed the camera angle.
A second figure appeared at the end of the corridor.
A man.
He wore a black suit and carried a leather folder.
The camera caught his face for less than three seconds.
Tristan recognized him immediately.
"Daniel.""
Marcus nodded.
"Your financial adviser. He arrived at 5:58 p.m. and left through the north entrance at 6:31.""
"Why was he here?""
"He told the receptionist he needed your signature on the year-end documents.""
Tristan stared at the screen.
"Did he get it?""
"No, sir.""
"Search his office. Quietly.""
Marcus hesitated.
"There's something else.""
"What?""
"Daniel accessed your private account records yesterday.""
Tristan turned.
"How?""
"His authorization was valid. But he downloaded the estate's financial documents and several files connected to your late wife's trust.""
Tristan's expression changed.
Maisie's trust.
His wife, Eleanor, had died three years earlier.
Before her death, she had established a protected inheritance for their daughter. The money could only be accessed by Maisie when she turned twenty-one, except under specific circumstances involving her legal guardian.
Tristan had never touched it.
He had never needed to.
"How much?"" he asked.
Marcus lowered his voice.
"Approximately thirty-eight million dollars.""
Silence.
Tristan looked back at the monitor.
Veronica entering the basement.
Daniel waiting outside.
The missing key.
His daughter crying.
It was no longer simply a cruel act against a child.
It was something planned.
"Find Daniel," Tristan said.
"Alive?""
Tristan's eyes moved toward him.
"I want answers. Not a funeral.""
Across the estate, Veronica sat alone in the dressing room.
She had removed her diamond earrings and placed them beside an expensive perfume bottle.
Her phone rested on the vanity.
It vibrated.
*DANIEL: Did you get the documents?*
Veronica typed.
*NO. THE GIRL WAS FOUND.*
Three dots appeared.
Then disappeared.
Then returned.
*DANIEL: What do you mean, FOUND?*
*VERONICA: The maid discovered her. Tristan saw the footage.*
A call immediately came through.
Veronica answered.
"What?""
Daniel's voice sounded strained.
"Tell me you're joking.""
"I'm not.""
"Did he see me?""
"Yes.""
"Then we're finished.""
"Don't be ridiculous.""
"Veronica, I told you not to involve the child!""
Veronica stood abruptly.
"I didn't have a choice. She wouldn't stop asking for her father.""
"She's five years old!""
"And she's the reason everything is complicated!""
Daniel exhaled sharply.
"Listen to me. We need the signature. Without it, we cannot move the trust funds.""
"I know.""
"Then stop making mistakes.""
Veronica glanced at the dressing-room door.
"Tristan doesn't suspect anything.""
"He's a mafia boss. He suspects everything.""
She lowered her voice.
"Then we accelerate the plan.""
"What plan?""
"The wedding.""
Daniel went silent.
Veronica smiled at her reflection.
"Once I'm his wife, I'll have more influence over the household and the legal arrangements. We can make Maisie look unstable, get the doctors involved, and convince Tristan that the child needs residential care.""
"That's insane.""
"That's survival.""
Daniel's voice hardened.
"And what happens if Tristan discovers the trust?""
Veronica picked up her diamond earrings.
"He won't.""
A voice came from behind her.
"Discover what?""
Veronica froze.
The phone slipped slightly in her hand.
Tristan stood in the doorway.
His suit jacket was gone, and his sleeves were rolled to his forearms. The intricate tattoos on his hands were visible beneath the warm light.
He looked at the phone.
Then at her.
"Who were you speaking to?""
Veronica quickly ended the call.
"Daniel.""
"Why?""
"He was asking about the documents.""
"What documents?""
"The financial reports.""
Tristan stepped into the room.
"Interesting. Because Marcus tells me Daniel was downloading files from Eleanor's trust yesterday.""
Veronica's expression shifted.
Only slightly.
But Tristan saw it.
"Why would Daniel need access to my daughter's inheritance?""
"How would I know?""
"You were with him in the basement.""
She gave a short laugh.
"Tristan, we've discussed this. I went down there because Maisie was misbehaving.""
"You locked her inside.""
"I wanted her to calm down.""
"In a dark basement?""
"She was throwing things. She was screaming. I couldn't manage her.""
Tristan moved closer.
"She's five.""
"And I'm tired of being treated like an outsider in this family!""
Her voice cracked.
For a moment, the carefully constructed hostess disappeared.
"I've spent three years trying to make this work. Three years of living in a house where every photograph, every conversation, every holiday revolves around a dead woman and her daughter!""
Tristan didn't respond.
Veronica wiped beneath one eye.
"Do you know what it's like to come second to a child who isn't even yours?""
Tristan's expression turned cold.
"Yes.""
She blinked.
"What?""
"She's my daughter. She comes first.""
Veronica's mouth opened.
Tristan continued.
"And Eleanor is her mother. She will always have a place in this house.""
Veronica took a step backward.
"So I'm nothing?""
"Tonight, you're a woman who locked a little girl in a basement.""
"You're making me sound like a monster!""
"No. Your actions are doing that.""
He held out his hand.
"Give me your phone.""
Veronica clutched it against her chest.
"Absolutely not.""
"Then unlock it.""
"You're not entitled to search my private conversations.""
Tristan watched her for several seconds.
Then he lowered his hand.
"Fine.""
He turned toward the door.
Veronica released a breath.
But before he left, he stopped.
"Your wedding is postponed.""
Her face drained of color.
"What?""
"You heard me.""
"Tristan!""
He didn't turn around.
"And until I know exactly what you and Daniel were doing with my daughter's inheritance, you will not be alone with Maisie again.""
He left.
Veronica stood motionless.
Then she picked up the crystal perfume bottle and threw it against the mirror.
The glass shattered.
At 11:35 p.m., Audrey sat beside Maisie's bed.
The little girl had awakened twice, both times calling for her father.
Audrey had warmed a small towel and gently cleaned the dirt from her hands.
"Will you stay?"" Maisie whispered.
"Of course, sweetheart.""
"Even when Daddy goes away?""
Audrey smiled softly.
"I'll stay until he comes back.""
Maisie looked at her stuffed rabbit.
"Veronica says Daddy doesn't love me anymore.""
Audrey felt something tighten in her chest.
"That's not true.""
"How do you know?""
"Because I saw his face when he found you.""
Maisie blinked.
"He was crying.""
Audrey nodded.
"He was very scared.""
The little girl thought about that.
Then she reached for Audrey's hand.
"Can I tell you something?""
"Anything.""
"Veronica said if I told Daddy about the basement, she'd send me away.""
Audrey's smile disappeared.
"Send you where?""
Maisie shook her head.
"Somewhere Daddy couldn't find me.""
Audrey carefully tucked the blanket around her.
"You're safe now.""
But Maisie wasn't finished.
She leaned closer.
"She said the man with the black bag would come back tomorrow.""
Audrey went still.
"What man?""
"The one who gave Veronica the little bottle.""
"What bottle, sweetheart?""
Maisie pointed toward the bedside table.
"She gave me some juice before dinner. It tasted funny.""
Audrey stared at her.
"Did you drink it?""
Maisie nodded.
"Just a little.""
Audrey immediately reached for the bedside call button.
Before she could press it, her phone vibrated.
An unknown number.
She answered quietly.
"Hello?""
A man's voice spoke.
"Audrey Lane?""
"Who is this?""
"Listen carefully. You need to get away from the Vale estate tonight.""
Her fingers tightened around the phone.
"Why?""
"Because Veronica knows you found the child.""
Audrey glanced at Maisie.
The voice continued.
"And because the bottle she gave that little girl wasn't medicine.""
The call ended.
Audrey slowly lowered the phone.
Then she looked at Maisie.
"Sweetheart, did you drink anything else?""
Maisie shook her head.
Audrey pressed the call button.
And just as the nurse entered, a scream erupted from the hallway.
"MR. VALE!""
It was Marcus.
"WE HAVE A PROBLEM!""
Tristan rushed into the corridor.
"What happened?""
Marcus held up a tablet.
"Someone accessed the medical system.""
Tristan looked at the screen.
A medication order had been entered under Maisie's name.
The dosage was unusually high.
The attending physician's signature had been copied.
But the prescription hadn't been written by a doctor.
It had been submitted using Veronica's private access code.
Tristan's face turned pale.
"Where is Veronica?""
May you like
Marcus looked toward the staircase.
"She's gone.""
