Chapter 6 - VICTORIA'S STORY
Victoria entered the interview room wearing pearls.
Even after watching her son hurt me, she had found time to dress as though she were attending lunch at a country club.
She folded her hands on the table.
“Dominic is dangerous.”
I nearly laughed.
Chloe did not.
“You encouraged him last night.”
Victoria’s expression tightened.
“I was afraid.”
“You stepped over Claire while she was injured.”
“I made a terrible decision.”
“You told her she needed to learn her place.”
Victoria looked down.
“I have spent years trying to manage my son.”
“By helping him?”
“By surviving him.”
I watched her carefully.
For the first time, Victoria’s voice began to shake.
She claimed Dominic had created the blue files.
Dominic had monitored my finances.
Dominic had hired the investigator.
Dominic had manipulated Dr. Ames.
Arthur and Victoria, she insisted, knew very little.
Then Chloe placed Rachel’s photograph on the table.
Victoria stopped talking.
“Tell me about Rachel Mercer.”
Something flashed in her eyes.
“An unstable young woman.”
“Your son’s first wife.”
“A mistake.”
“Did Dominic hurt her?”
“No.”
“Did you pay her twenty-five thousand dollars?”
Victoria hesitated.
“To help her leave.”
“Why?”
“Because the marriage was unhealthy.”
I leaned forward.
“Why did Dominic tell me he had never been married?”
Victoria looked at me.
“You’d have to ask him.”
I almost stood.
Chloe touched my arm.
Then she placed another document on the table.
It was a transfer authorization bearing my signature.
I had never signed it.
Seven hundred and eighty thousand dollars had moved from an investment account connected to my grandmother’s estate into Bennett Strategic Holdings.
Victoria’s face remained still.
Chloe asked one question.
“Who forged Claire’s signature?”
Victoria said nothing.
The silence lasted almost a minute.
Then she whispered.
“Dominic.”
Chloe slid another page forward.
“This transfer happened while Dominic was in Toronto.”
Victoria looked up.
“Electronic signatures exist.”
“This one was notarized in Connecticut.”
For the first time, Victoria lost control.
Her eyes moved toward the door.
Chloe saw it too.
“Who signed Claire’s name, Victoria?”
“I want an attorney.”
The interview ended.
Outside, Chloe exhaled.
“She’s lying.”
“I know.”
“But Dominic is lying too.”
My phone buzzed.
A voicemail had appeared from an unknown number.
The timestamp showed it had been recorded three weeks earlier.
A man’s voice whispered.
“Claire, this is Arthur.”
I stopped walking.
“If you ever hear this, it means I failed to stop them.”
Chloe stared at me.
Arthur’s voice continued.
“The blue files are only copies.”
“There’s another set.”
May you like
Then he said the one sentence that changed everything.
“And Victoria has been preparing your replacement.”
