[CHAPTER 14]
The preschool called at 10:17 on a Tuesday morning.
My entire body reacted before I understood the words.
“Mrs. Bennett, Sophie is safe.”
No parent wants to hear a sentence beginning that way.
“What happened?”
“A man came to the front office asking to see her.”
I stood so quickly my chair rolled backward.
“Who?”
“He said he was family.”
“Name.”
“He gave the name Victor Hale.”
I stopped.
Victor?
“Did Sophie see him?”
“No.”
“Where is he now?”
“Police are speaking with him.”
I called Daniel.
He answered immediately.
“What's wrong?”
“Victor went to Sophie's school.”
Silence.
“What?”
“He asked to see her.”
“No.”
“Did you tell him he could?”
“No.”
“Did you tell him where she goes?”
Daniel went quiet.
“Daniel.”
“He knows the school because Mom mentioned it years ago.”
My stomach turned.
“I don't care how he knows.”
“I didn't authorize this.”
“Call him.”
“I will.”
“Now.”
Daniel called back ten minutes later.
“He says he only wanted to leave something.”
“What?”
“A book.”
“He couldn't mail it?”
“I asked the same thing.”
“And?”
“He says he made a mistake.”
I laughed bitterly.
“Everyone makes mistakes around my daughter.”
“I told him he isn't allowed to contact Sophie.”
“Good.”
“He wants to apologize to you.”
“No.”
“Okay.”
No argument.
No defending Victor.
Daniel was learning.
Later that afternoon, Victor called anyway.
I nearly blocked him.
Then I answered.
“You have thirty seconds.”
“I shouldn't have gone.”
“No.”
“I brought a book Richard gave me.”
“That doesn't matter.”
“I thought Sophie might want it someday.”
“You don't know Sophie.”
“I know.”
“You are not her grandfather because a test says you're Daniel's biological father.”
Silence.
Then Victor said, “You're right.”
That stopped me.
“I gave up the right to assume anything.”
“Yes.”
“I stayed away from Daniel because I told myself I was respecting Richard.”
“You were protecting yourself.”
“Yes.”
Again, no excuse.
“I won't contact Sophie again.”
“Good.”
“I'll give the book to Thomas.”
“Fine.”
He hesitated.
“Claire?”
“What?”
“Richard would have liked you.”
I almost hung up.
Then Victor continued.
“He would have hated what happened on that porch.”
My throat tightened.
“He would have hated what Daniel did.”
“Yes.”
“Don't romanticize him to make Daniel feel better.”
“I won't.”
We ended the call.
That evening, Daniel came for supervised dinner with Sophie.
She made him eat plastic vegetables from her toy kitchen first.
“This broccoli is terrible,” he said.
Sophie gasped.
“You have to eat it.”
“Can I have ketchup?”
“No.”
“What kind of restaurant is this?”
“My restaurant.”
Daniel looked at me.
“Management is strict.”
I almost smiled.
After Sophie went upstairs with Rachel for bath time, Daniel handed me an envelope.
“What?”
“Victor gave it to Thomas.”
Inside was a thin children's book.
The Velveteen Rabbit.
I stared at it.
“Richard's?”
“Apparently.”
I opened the cover.
A handwritten inscription filled the first page.
For Daniel, who made me real.
Dad.
My eyes burned.
Daniel sat down.
“He gave it to Victor when he confronted him.”
“Why?”
“Victor says Dad wanted him to understand that fatherhood had already happened.”
I traced Richard's handwriting.
“Do you believe him?”
Daniel looked at the book.
“Yes.”
“That doesn't mean Victor doesn't matter.”
“I know.”
“He's still your biological father.”
“I know.”
“You can have both truths.”
Daniel looked at me.
“My therapist says that too.”
“Again, smart therapist.”
He smiled faintly.
Then his phone rang.
Thomas.
Daniel answered.
His expression changed immediately.
“What?”
I stood.
He listened.
Then slowly sat back down.
“Are you sure?”
I waited.
Daniel ended the call.
“What happened?”
He looked at me.
“They found Denise's money.”
“The woman who tried to take Sophie?”
“Yes.”
“Where did it come from?”
“One of Mom's shell accounts.”
“Good.”
Daniel didn't look relieved.
“What?”
“The payment wasn't just for taking Sophie.”
My skin prickled.
“What else?”
Daniel rubbed his forehead.
“There was a second instruction.”
“What instruction?”
“If the custody plan failed, Denise was supposed to access Sophie's trust documents.”
“How?”
“Through Thomas's office.”
“That makes no sense.”
“She had an employee badge.”
“What?”
Daniel looked sick.
“Thomas's longtime receptionist is Denise's sister.”
I stared at him.
The plan was bigger than we'd known.
“What was she supposed to do?”
“Replace one document.”
“With what?”
“A forged amendment.”
My chest tightened.
“What did it say?”
Daniel looked at me.
“That if my paternity as Richard's biological son was disputed, all descendant trusts returned to Margaret's control.”
I couldn't believe the audacity.
“Richard never signed that.”
“No.”
“But Margaret planned to make it look like he did.”
“Yes.”
“And if we hadn't found it?”
“She could have controlled Sophie's money for years.”
I thought about the chain.
The paternity accusations.
The custody petition.
The attempted pickup.
Every path led to the same thing.
Control.
My phone rang.
Detective Grant.
Her voice was calm.
“We have enough.”
“For what?”
“To charge Margaret with conspiracy related to the attempted custodial interference and forged trust documents.”
I closed my eyes.
“Is this finally over?”
Detective Grant paused.
“The investigation is getting close.”
That wasn't the answer I wanted.
But before hanging up, she added one more thing.
“Claire, Margaret cannot reach Sophie now.”
I looked toward the stairs.
May you like
Sophie was laughing in the bathtub.
For the first time in weeks, I believed those words.
