Chapter 10 - The Nanny Comes Forward
Her name was Sofia Alvarez.
She had been Nora’s night nanny for six weeks after the birth.
Then she disappeared.
Vivienne told me Sofia returned to Texas for family reasons.
Sofia saw the gala video and contacted Lena.
She had not returned home voluntarily.
Adrian fired her.
Why?
Because she saw him shake my shoulder while I was holding Nora.
Sofia intervened.
Adrian ordered her out.
The next morning, Vivienne offered her fifty thousand dollars to sign a confidentiality agreement.
Sofia refused.
Vivienne threatened to destroy her references.
Sofia left because she was terrified she would never work again.
She had kept the text messages.
One from Adrian.
YOU WORK FOR ME.
NOT HER.
Another.
IF CLAIRE TELLS ANYONE WHAT HAPPENED, YOU SAW NOTHING.
Then Vivienne.
SIGN AND MOVE ON.
WE CAN MAKE THIS EASY OR DIFFICULT.
Sofia sat across from me in Lena’s office.
“I’m sorry.”
I shook my head.
“You were scared.”
“So were you.”
That sentence almost broke me.
Sofia agreed to testify.
Then she told us something else.
One night, she heard Adrian and Vivienne arguing about Henry.
It was two weeks before Henry died.
Adrian said.
“He changed the trust.”
Vivienne answered.
“Then we fix it before he files.”
Julian looked at her.
“Fix what?”
Sofia did not know.
She only remembered Adrian shouting.
“If Nora gets those shares, Claire controls me.”
My stomach tightened.
Henry’s trust had supposedly been filed before his death.
What if Adrian tried to stop it?
Rachel pulled the probate record.
The trust had been filed at 9:14 a.m.
Henry died that evening.
Official cause.
Cardiac arrest related to advanced cancer.
No one had questioned it.
Why would they?
He was already dying.
Then Julian said.
“Dad wasn’t supposed to die that day.”
I looked at him.
“What?”
“He had a procedure scheduled the next morning.”
“He was weak.”
“But stable.”
The room became silent.
May you like
Lena’s expression changed.
The assault case had just opened another door.
