Chapter 8 - SOPHIE’S FATHER
Michael arrived at the hospital after midnight.
Detective Ortiz arrived five minutes later.
That was not an accident.
I had forwarded every message.
Michael stood at the end of the hallway wearing yesterday’s clothes.
He looked older than he had twenty-four hours earlier.
“Evelyn.”
I did not answer.
“How is Sophie?”
“You don’t get to ask that first.”
His face crumpled.
“I made a mistake.”
“What did you do?”
He looked at Ortiz.
She said nothing.
“What did you do, Michael?”
He rubbed both hands across his face.
“Your father called me two weeks ago.”
“Why?”
“He said you were trying to take control of the family trust.”
“I didn’t even know I had control.”
“I know that now.”
“What did he want from you?”
Michael’s eyes dropped.
“He wanted me to sign a statement.”
My heart sank.
Of course.
“What kind?”
“That you had become unstable.”
I almost laughed.
Everyone had received the same script.
“Did you sign it?”
“No.”
For one second, relief moved through me.
Then he destroyed it.
“But I gave him information.”
“What information?”
“About your divorce.”
My stomach tightened.
“Private information?”
“Yes.”
“What?”
“Arguments we had.”
“Anything violent?”
“No.”
“Anything involving Sophie?”
“No.”
“Then why?”
“Because he offered me money.”
The words hung between us.
“How much?”
“Fifty thousand.”
Ortiz began writing.
“Did you take it?”
Michael stared at the floor.
“Yes.”
I stepped backward.
Fifty thousand dollars.
That was the price of his daughter’s safety.
“Was that the envelope at the hotel?”
“Yes.”
“What did your father ask you to do in return?”
“Nothing involving Sophie.”
I raised my voice.
“Stop saying that.”
A nurse looked down the hall.
I lowered it again.
“You met with people planning to frame her.”
“I didn’t know.”
“What did you know?”
Michael swallowed.
“That they planned to provoke you at the wedding.”
“How?”
“They said Preston would accuse you of causing trouble.”
“That’s all?”
His hesitation betrayed him.
“Michael.”
“He said Sophie might be involved.”
My vision narrowed.
“How?”
“He said they might create a small misunderstanding.”
“What kind of misunderstanding?”
“He didn’t tell me.”
“And you took the money anyway?”
Michael’s eyes filled.
“I was desperate.”
“So was Sophie when she was bleeding.”
He looked as though I had struck him.
Good.
Ortiz finally spoke.
“Mr. Carter, we need a formal interview.”
Michael nodded.
But before he followed her, he looked at me.
“There’s something you should know.”
I said nothing.
“Your father didn’t come up with all of this.”
My chest tightened.
“Then who did?”
Michael looked toward Sophie’s closed hospital door.
“Preston has been meeting with someone for months.”
“Who?”
“A lawyer.”
Naomi stepped forward.
“What lawyer?”
“Graham Voss.”
Naomi went completely still.
I noticed immediately.
“You know him?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
She looked at Michael.
Then back at me.
“Graham Voss specializes in hostile trust restructuring.”
I frowned.
“What does that mean?”
“It means wealthy families hire him when they want to remove someone from a trust without looking like they’re stealing from them.”
My blood turned cold.
Michael continued.
“He told Preston that if you were declared incompetent, your voting authority would transfer temporarily.”
“To whom?”
Naomi answered before Michael could.
“To the remaining trustees.”
“My father and Preston.”
“Yes.”
Michael looked sick.
“There’s more.”
I stared at him.
He took a breath.
“The wedding wasn’t their first plan.”
The hallway became silent.
“What was?”
Michael looked directly at me.
“Three months ago, they discussed trying to make it look like you were neglecting Sophie.”
I stopped breathing.
“And when that didn’t work…”
May you like
His voice cracked.
“They decided to make Sophie look afraid of you instead.”
