The appleNextce jar was still there.

Olivia had placed it inside a sealed plastic bag because she planned to test bacterial growth for a school project.

She had forgotten about it.

Detective Ramirez did not.

The jar went directly to a laboratory.

Adrian learned about it while meeting with his attorney, Rebecca Sloan.

Rebecca had handled Mercer family legal matters for thirteen years.

She had known Rachel.

She knew Olivia.

She had attended Emma’s first birthday party.

When Adrian showed her the copy of the insurance application, Rebecca stopped speaking for nearly a minute.

“This signature isn’t yours.”

“No.”

“But it’s close.”

“I know.”

“Very close.”

She examined another page.

“Who has access to examples of your signature?”

“Half the company.”

“That isn’t good.”

Adrian stared at the document.

Rebecca continued.

“The policy wasn’t completed.”

“What stopped it?”

“The underwriting requirements.”

“She needed medical information and proof of insurable interest.”

“So she couldn’t actually collect.”

“Not yet.”

The phrase disturbed him.

Not yet.

Rebecca pushed the paper aside.

“We also need to discuss your estate documents.”

“Matthew stole them.”

“Probably.”

“Why?”

Rebecca looked directly at him.

“Because your current estate plan is a problem for anyone trying to gain control of your daughters or your assets.”

“Explain.”

“If you die, Olivia receives a trust.”

“Emma receives another trust.”

“Your sister Evelyn becomes primary guardian.”

Adrian nodded.

“And Clara?”

“She is named as a temporary caregiver if Evelyn cannot arrive immediately.”

He had forgotten that detail.

Rachel had insisted on it.

Rebecca continued.

“Matthew gets nothing beyond the separate trust your father already established.”

“So stealing the documents doesn’t change them.”

“No.”

“But it tells him exactly what must be defeated.”

Adrian felt a headache forming.

“Could he forge new documents?”

“He could try.”

“Would they hold?”

“Eventually?”

“Probably not.”

“But contested estates can become ugly.”

“How ugly?”

Rebecca leaned back.

“If you suddenly died after marrying Vanessa, she could argue that your previous documents no longer represented your intentions.”

“She could claim you planned to update everything.”

“If she had enough fabricated evidence, yes.”

Adrian stood.

He walked toward the window.

Thirty floors below, traffic moved through the city.

His life had always felt controlled from this height.

Buildings.

Contracts.

Schedules.

Numbers.

Now he understood how fragile control had always been.

His phone rang.

Detective Ramirez.

“Adrian.”

“Did you get the lab results?”

“Preliminary only.”

He heard something in her voice.

“What did they find?”

“The appleNextce contained a prescription sedative.”

Adrian gripped the phone.

“What?”

“Not enough to be lethal based on the remaining concentration.”

“But enough to make an infant extremely ill.”

He remembered Emma in the hospital.

Small body.

IV line.

Vanessa standing beside him.

Vanessa rubbing his back.

Vanessa whispering that Clara had become careless.

Adrian felt nausea.

“She drugged my daughter.”

“We’re still establishing exactly who put it in the food.”

“You know who did.”

“We need proof.”

Adrian closed his eyes.

“Where is Vanessa?”

“Still being held while charges related to the stroller incident are reviewed.”

“And Matthew?”

“We’re looking for him.”

“He’s gone?”

“He didn’t return home last night.”

Adrian turned toward Rebecca.

Ramirez continued.

“We checked airport records.”

“Nothing.”

“His car was found downtown.”

“Empty.”

Adrian’s pulse increased.

“You think he ran.”

“Yes.”

A pause.

“Adrian, there’s something else.”

“What?”

“We found a deleted message between Matthew and Vanessa.”

“What did it say?”

Ramirez read it slowly.

“Baby episode worked.”

“Next time needs hospital proof against C.”

Adrian sat down.

Rebecca watched his face.

“What?”

she asked.

Adrian could barely speak.

“They used Emma to frame Clara.”

Rebecca’s expression hardened.

Adrian looked back toward the city.

And for the first time, his fear shifted.

Vanessa had been arrested.

But Matthew was free.

And he knew where Olivia and Emma lived.