Chapter 7
I moved Noah away from Susan.
She looked at the signature and shook her head.
“I didn’t sign that.”
Eric’s documents carried her professional seal.
Only Susan and her legal assistant had access to it.
Detective Brooks searched Susan’s office.
They found no evidence she had helped Eric.
But her assistant, Lydia Shaw, had disappeared.
Lydia had worked for Susan for six years.
She prepared my father’s estate documents.
She also handled the early drafts of my prenuptial agreement with Vanessa.
Phone records showed Lydia spoke to Eric almost every day.
Police traced her to a hotel near the airport.
She tried to flee through a kitchen exit but was arrested.
Inside her room, officers found Susan’s stolen seal, blank trust forms, and a laptop containing forged documents.
Lydia admitted meeting Eric before Emily’s death.
He paid her to reveal confidential information about Dad’s will and Noah’s trust.
She told him Emily planned to expose the missing company funds.
That information led to Emily’s murder.
Lydia also created the false medical diagnosis used against me.
“I never thought anyone would die,” she said.
“You kept helping after two people died,” I answered.
Her cooperation revealed that Vanessa’s fake pregnancy served another purpose.
My company required enhanced financial review before any major ownership transfer.
But an estate transfer to a spouse or biological child could bypass some internal protections.
Vanessa planned to marry me, claim Grace was my newborn daughter, and use the forged medical reports to have me declared incompetent.
Eric would manage my shares through Vanessa.
By the time anyone questioned Grace’s identity, the money would be gone.
The case spread across three states.
Westbridge lost its license.
Families demanded investigations into children placed there through false medical records.
Dr. Ross admitted he had targeted other heirs.
Helen Cross revealed hidden payment accounts.
Caroline accepted a plea agreement and gave investigators access to the clinic’s files.
She had falsified Vanessa’s pregnancy records, supplied the sedatives, and helped poison Dad.
But she denied knowing Eric intended to kill him.
Grace entered temporary foster care with one of Caroline’s relatives.
Noah asked about her every day.
“She didn’t do anything wrong,” he said.
“No, she didn’t.”
“Then why can’t she come home?”
“Because children need safe plans, not fast promises.”
A judge later approved supervised visits between Noah and Grace.
The first time we entered the visitation room, Noah carried a stuffed elephant.
“This was mine when I was a baby,” he told her.
Grace chewed one ear.
Noah laughed.
It was the first time I had heard that sound since the wedding.
Vanessa requested another meeting.
She offered to testify against Eric and Caroline if prosecutors reduced her charges.
I met her through the detention-center glass.
“You let Noah believe he would be replaced,” I said.
“I needed him afraid.”
“You threatened a seven-year-old.”
“He kept watching me.”
“He knew you were lying.”
Her expression hardened.
“You always chose him.”
“He is my son.”
“I could have given you another child.”
“You tried to pass Eric’s baby off as mine.”
“It would have made us a family.”
“No. It would have made us part of your crime.”
Vanessa pressed her hand against the glass.
“I did love you.”
“You studied me. You drugged me. You planned my death.”
Tears filled her eyes.
“Eric said no one would be hurt.”
“You watched him threaten Noah.”
She looked away.
As I stood to leave, she whispered, “There’s one thing Eric never told you.”
I stopped.
“He didn’t kill Emily because she found the money.”
“Then why?”
May you like
Vanessa leaned closer.
“Emily discovered Noah was not your biological son.”
