Chapter 4 - Bellweather
The next morning, Cassidy moved into a secured executive residence owned by Meridian.
She hated the idea.
But Margaret refused to let her stay alone while they investigated Bellweather.
Cassidy agreed for one reason.
Her baby came before pride.
At 8:15 a.m., Marcus called.
“We found Bellweather.”
Cassidy put him on speaker.
Margaret was sitting across from her with coffee untouched between her hands.
Marcus continued.
“It isn’t a family-services company.”
“What is it?”
“A private legal consultancy.”
“For what?”
“Guardianship disputes, estate succession, medical incapacity planning.”
Cassidy closed her eyes briefly.
Brendan had not merely researched her inheritance.
He had paid specialists to study how control could move away from her.
Marcus continued.
“Bellweather was retained under an alias.”
“What alias?”
“B. Marshall.”
Brendan’s middle name was Marshall.
Margaret swore under her breath.
Cassidy opened the forged trust document again.
“What would he need to make this work?”
“A triggering event.”
“Meaning?”
“If you were declared mentally or medically incapable of managing your affairs, the forged document would place temporary control with the named guardian structure.”
“And because my baby is the next beneficiary—”
“Brendan could claim he needed control to protect the child’s interests.”
Cassidy felt something cold settle inside her.
“He was building a legal cage.”
“Yes.”
Margaret leaned forward.
“But forged documents collapse once challenged.”
Marcus was silent for a moment.
“Normally.”
Cassidy noticed the hesitation.
“What aren’t you saying?”
“They appear to have prepared supporting evidence.”
Marcus emailed another file.
Cassidy opened it.
Medical assessments.
Psychological notes.
Statements claiming she was emotionally unstable.
Reports describing irrational behavior during pregnancy.
One page said Cassidy had exhibited paranoia regarding corporate employees.
Another claimed she had experienced episodes of confusion.
Every page carried Dr. Pierce’s signature.
Cassidy had never undergone those evaluations.
Margaret stood up.
“This is criminal.”
Cassidy scrolled lower.
Then stopped.
A witness statement appeared.
The witness claimed Cassidy had discussed harming herself during an argument.
The witness was Brendan Mercer.
His signature sat beneath the statement.
Cassidy remembered that night.
She had been six months pregnant.
Brendan had arrived home after midnight.
He smelled like Sloane’s perfume.
Cassidy had confronted him.
He called her jealous.
She told him she could not continue living inside a marriage built on humiliation.
That sentence had become his evidence that she was unstable.
Every private moment had been turned into ammunition.
Cassidy closed the file.
“When did they plan to use this?”
Marcus answered.
“We found an email referring to something called the delivery window.”
Margaret went pale.
Cassidy stared at the speaker.
“Explain.”
“We don’t know yet.”
Cassidy’s baby moved beneath her hand.
She looked at the calendar.
Her due date was nine weeks away.
Then her secure line rang.
Corporate security.
Margaret answered.
Her face hardened.
“What happened?”
She listened.
Then looked at Cassidy.
“Someone entered the legal archives last night.”
“Who?”
“They bypassed the access log.”
Cassidy stood.
“What did they take?”
Margaret swallowed.
“The original Hart Continuity Trust file.”
Cassidy felt the room tilt.
The message Brendan had received returned to her.
DO NOT LET HER FIND THE ORIGINAL.
They had not been hiding it.
May you like
They had been looking for it too.
And now someone inside Meridian had found it first.
