Chapter 3 - The Private Investigator
I stared at the chilling life insurance document until the terrifying reality completely settled into my bones.
Victoria was planning to murder my precious daughter to collect a massive, untraceable fortune.
I pulled out my cell phone and rapidly took dozens of clear, high-resolution photographs of every single page inside the box.
I meticulously placed the documents back exactly as I had found them and locked the heavy metal lid.
I shoved the box back behind the wine rack and sprinted silently up the stone stairs before Victoria could finish her bath.
I walked into the kitchen, poured myself a glass of cold water, and dialed the only man I could trust with my life.
Marcus was a former federal agent turned elite private investigator who had saved my company from corporate espionage years ago.
He answered on the second ring, his deep, gravelly voice instantly calming my racing, panicked nerves.
I quickly explained the entire terrifying situation and sent him the encrypted photographs of the insurance policy.
"Keep her completely calm and act entirely normal until I can run a deep background check on this holding company," Marcus ordered strictly.
I hung up the phone just as Victoria walked gracefully down the main staircase, wrapped in a plush white towel.
She smiled warmly and asked if I wanted to take Lily to the Santa Monica pier for a fun family afternoon.
I forced a completely fake, loving smile and agreed, knowing I had to keep the illusion of our perfect life completely intact.
The entire afternoon at the busy pier felt like an agonizing, deeply terrifying psychological torture session.
Victoria bought Lily cotton candy, held her hand on the Ferris wheel, and played the role of the perfect future stepmother flawlessly.
Every time she stood too close to the railing with my daughter, my heart nearly stopped beating in my chest.
I kept myself firmly positioned between them, hyper-aware of her every subtle movement and calculating glance.
We finally returned to the mansion just as the golden California sun began to set over the vast, dark ocean.
Lily was completely exhausted and fell asleep in my arms the moment we walked through the heavy front doors.
I carried her carefully up to her bedroom, securely locking her door from the inside before tucking her into bed.
When I walked back downstairs, Victoria was pouring two large glasses of expensive red wine in the kitchen.
My cell phone suddenly vibrated violently in my pocket with an urgent, highly encrypted message from Marcus.
I turned away from Victoria, pretending to check a mundane work email as I quickly opened the secure text.
Marcus had discovered that the offshore holding company was officially registered to a man named Arthur Vance.
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The message ended with a terrifying warning that made my blood run entirely cold.
Arthur Vance was Victoria's previous husband, a wealthy real estate developer who had supposedly died in a tragic boating accident five years ago.
