Chapter 5 - The Emergency Petition
By sunrise, Silvio had three attorneys in a private conference room.
The petition was worse than he expected.
Lucinda claimed Ethan and Mia had suffered prolonged emotional instability since Mateo’s death.
She alleged that their recent “behavioral episode” had resulted in them locking themselves inside the SUV.
Silvio read the sentence twice.
Then he looked at the attorney.
“She says they locked themselves in.”
“Yes.”
“We have video showing her locking the doors.”
“Yes.”
“We have video showing Grant disabling the release.”
“Yes.”
“And she still filed this?”
“She doesn’t need to win permanently.”
The attorney leaned forward.
“She only needs temporary authority.”
“Until when?”
“Monday morning.”
Silvio understood.
The transfer.
If Lucinda became emergency guardian before nine o’clock Monday, she could challenge the children’s capacity to receive direct control through their protected voting trust.
Even if the challenge failed later, it could delay the transfer.
Delay created time.
Time created opportunity.
“What judge?”
“Harold Voss.”
Silvio’s expression changed.
Voss had attended Grant and Lucinda’s anniversary party six months earlier.
Silvio had seen the photos.
“Conflict?”
“Not technically.”
“Financial connection?”
“We’re checking.”
Silvio stood.
“No.”
His attorney looked up.
“No what?”
“We’re not reacting anymore.”
Silvio walked to the window.
“We keep waiting for Grant and Lucinda to move.”
“Then we defend.”
“They move again.”
“Then we defend again.”
He turned.
“That ends now.”
Silvio contacted the district attorney’s financial crimes unit.
Then the state child protection office.
Then an investigator who had once worked federal organized fraud cases.
By noon, the SUV was impounded.
By one, technicians confirmed the emergency unlock fuse had been deliberately removed.
At two, investigators discovered something beneath the rear seat.
A small digital temperature sensor.
It had been connected to Grant’s phone.
Silvio stared at the evidence photograph.
Grant had been monitoring the heat inside the SUV.
Not guessing.
Monitoring.
At 3:41 p.m., Dean Mercer’s truck was found abandoned near an industrial storage complex.
Mercer was gone.
Inside the truck, investigators found cash.
A burner phone.
And a photograph of Ethan and Mia leaving school.
Silvio felt sick.
The children had not become targets that weekend.
They had been targets for weeks.
That evening, Lucinda arrived at the hospital with her attorney.
Security blocked her.
She demanded to see the children.
Silvio stepped into the hallway.
“You filed documents saying they endangered themselves.”
Lucinda’s face remained calm.
“I’m trying to protect them.”
“From whom?”
“From you.”
Silvio almost smiled.
“Interesting.”
“You disappeared for years.”
“I left the company.”
“You left the family.”
Silvio’s eyes darkened.
“And you stayed.”
“Yes.”
“You stayed so close you could steal from them.”
Lucinda flinched.
Only once.
Silvio saw it.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Mateo knew.”
Her face changed.
That was enough.
Silvio moved closer.
“We heard his recordings.”
Lucinda stopped breathing.
For the first time, the polished mask disappeared completely.
“You opened Father’s safe?”
“Someone opened it before me.”
Her eyes shifted.
Silvio caught it.
“Who took the recorder?”
“I don’t know.”
“Where is Dean Mercer?”
“I don’t know.”
“Who killed Mateo?”
Lucinda’s eyes filled with something that looked almost like panic.
Then she whispered.
“You need to stop asking that question.”
Silvio stared at her.
“Why?”
Lucinda stepped closer until only a foot separated them.
“Because Grant wasn’t the only person on that boat.”
Silvio felt the floor disappear beneath him.
“What did you say?”
Lucinda’s voice trembled.
“There was someone else there.”
“Who?”
She looked toward the security cameras.
May you like
Then back at him.
And before she could answer, the hospital fire alarm began screaming.
