Chapter 13 - BEFORE LILY
Ethan agreed to give a formal statement.
Not because he suddenly became brave.
Because prosecutors were preparing charges.
Illegal surveillance.
Forgery conspiracy.
Attempted financial fraud.
Possibly witness intimidation.
He wanted a deal.
In exchange for cooperation, Ethan revealed the history Margaret had hidden from everyone.
When I became pregnant, Thomas Mercer was still alive.
He had already begun distancing himself from Margaret.
According to Ethan, Thomas believed his mother had been mismanaging family funds.
Three months before Lily was born, Thomas changed his estate structure.
If he died without children, his trust share would pass to Ethan’s first biological child.
Lily.
Margaret was furious.
“She wanted Thomas to leave the money under her control.”
Ethan told investigators.
“He refused.”
Thomas died four years later.
The official finding was accidental drowning.
But a month before his death, he had hired an auditor.
That auditor disappeared from the family’s records after Thomas died.
Rebecca stared at me.
“This changes things.”
“How?”
“We need the auditor.”
They found him in Vermont.
His name was Samuel Kerr.
Retired accountant.
Seventy-two years old.
He remembered everything.
Thomas had discovered Margaret moving money between family entities.
Some transactions were unauthorized.
Some may have been fraudulent.
Thomas intended to remove Margaret as trustee.
Then he died.
Samuel stopped investigating after Margaret threatened to destroy his career with accusations of theft.
He still had copies.
Boxes of them.
When investigators reviewed the records, the amount potentially misused over fifteen years exceeded thirty million dollars.
Margaret had not suddenly become desperate.
She had been covering holes for decades.
Lily’s trust represented the largest untouched pool of money left.
And I represented the only adult with a legal duty to stop Margaret from reaching it.
That afternoon, the court granted me temporary sole legal and physical custody.
Ethan received supervised visitation.
Margaret received none.
Brooke received none.
I should have felt safe.
Instead, Rebecca called at 6:40 p.m.
“Where are you?”
“Home.”
“Take Lily and leave.”
My heart stopped.
“Why?”
“Margaret missed her interview with investigators.”
“So?”
“Her phone is off.”
I stood.
Rebecca continued.
“And the temporary order was entered publicly thirty minutes ago.”
I looked through the window toward the dark street.
May you like
A black SUV was parked across from my house.
Its headlights turned on.
