The paper contained Emma’s full legal name.

Emma Rose Mercer.

Her date of birth.

Her Social Security information.

Adrian’s home address.

And a proposed life insurance policy worth three million dollars.

Adrian read the beneficiary line twice.

Vanessa Cole.

His hands turned cold.

Olivia stood beside him.

“How could she even get Emma’s information?”

Adrian looked upstairs.

“She had access to the house.”

“To paperwork?”

“My office.”

“You keep it locked.”

“I gave Vanessa the code.”

Olivia stared at him.

“You gave her the code?”

Adrian closed his eyes.

“Yes.”

He had given it to her six months earlier.

Vanessa had said she needed access because she was helping organize their household finances before the wedding.

At the time it had seemed practical.

Now Adrian wanted to tear every lock out of the house.

He called Detective Lena Ramirez, one of the officers who had responded the previous night.

Twenty minutes later, she arrived with another detective.

They photographed the document.

Ramirez examined the beneficiary section.

“Did you authorize this?”

“No.”

“Did you sign anything related to this policy?”

“No.”

“Did Ms. Cole ever discuss insurance for your daughter?”

“No.”

Ramirez looked at Olivia.

“Do you know where Clara found this?”

“She said Vanessa’s room.”

Technically it had been the guest bedroom.

Vanessa had called it her dressing room.

Police obtained Adrian’s consent to search the areas Vanessa had used.

The first drawer contained jewelry.

The second contained receipts.

The third contained nothing.

Then Detective Ramirez pressed against the back panel.

It shifted.

Behind it was an envelope.

Inside were photocopies.

Emma’s birth certificate.

Olivia’s passport.

Adrian’s financial statements.

Copies of property deeds.

A printout of Adrian’s company ownership structure.

And three pages of handwritten notes.

Ramirez read one line silently.

Her expression changed.

“What?”

Adrian asked.

She turned the paper.

There were dates beside several entries.

Emma sick.

Clara blamed.

Olivia unstable.

A.M. overwhelmed.

Need household transition before wedding.

Adrian read the last line.

After marriage, emergency guardianship easier.

Olivia stepped backward.

“What does that mean?”

No one answered immediately.

Ramirez folded the page carefully.

“It means we need to understand what Ms. Cole was planning.”

Adrian looked at his daughter.

Olivia suddenly seemed very young.

“You’re safe.”

She stared at the papers.

“Are we?”

The question silenced him.

Detective Ramirez continued searching.

Under several dresses, they found a prepaid phone.

Vanessa’s ordinary phone had been taken during the investigation.

The prepaid device was different.

Ramirez put on gloves and placed it inside an evidence bag.

“If we get legal authorization to access this, it may answer some questions.”

Adrian stared at the phone.

“What kind of questions?”

“Who else knew.”

The words hung in the room.

“Who else helped.”

Adrian looked around the house.

He suddenly imagined Vanessa speaking with someone while he was at work.

Someone who knew his schedule.

Someone who knew Emma’s routine.

Someone who knew Clara would be blamed.

Olivia seemed to have the same thought.

“Dad.”

He turned.

“What?”

“Vanessa didn’t install the camera system.”

“No.”

“She didn’t know all the blind spots.”

Adrian froze.

Olivia pointed toward the hallway.

“But somebody did.”

Detective Ramirez looked at her.

“Explain.”

Olivia swallowed.

“The stroller camera only caught Vanessa because I changed the angle last week.”

Adrian stared at his daughter.

“Why did you change it?”

“Because somebody kept turning the camera away from the stairs.”

The detective’s expression sharpened.

“How many times?”

“Four.”

“And you never told your father?”

“I thought it was Vanessa.”

Olivia shook her head.

“But if she didn’t know the system…”

Adrian completed the thought.

“Someone else did.”

Ramirez looked at the hidden phone again.

“We’ll find out.”

That afternoon, they received their first answer.

The prepaid phone contained only one saved contact.

The name was a single letter.

M.

And the number belonged to someone Adrian knew extremely well.

His younger brother.

Matthew Mercer.